Double Trouble
by loulou26
Summary: During a day at the lake, Lois encounters a small rock that drastically changes her life, and Clark's too. Because what's about to happen, Clark will never see coming.
1. Prologue

**Title: **Double Trouble  
**Author: **Laura (Lou)  
**Pairing: **Clois (naturally) and a little Chlollie.  
**Rating: **Strictly PG-13  
**Spoilers: **None, this is mostly AU.  
**Timeframe: **This fic is set mostly between the time season seven ended and the time season eight started but since it's an AU, none of the stuff that happened at the end of season seven, happened here. Lana and Clark broke up about a year ago, so she isn't around anymore, she left Smallville a long time ago.

**Summary: **Clark and Lois are friends, but each has been developing feelings for the other. Though they try very hard to keep those feelings hidden at all costs. During a day at the lake, Lois encounters a small rock that drastically changes her life, and Clark's too. Because what's about to happen, Clark will never see coming. 

_**Prologue**_

Clark set his application form down on his desk and leaned back in his chair. Linking his hands behind his head, he frowned down at the document. Ever since Lois had given it to him, he'd been adamant that he wouldn't even look at it.

But as time had gone on, he'd witnessed first hand how much Lois loved her job, he had to admit that it was appealing. There was always a fire in her eyes whenever he visited her and Chloe at the Planet and he…well he wanted to be a part of that world too.

Even though Chloe no longer worked there, he still found himself dropping in from time to time, just annoy Lois. But could he do it? Could he become a reporter? He wanted to.

"Turn that frown upside down Smallville, because you are about to have something called fun…" Clark closed his eyes and sighed as the object of his thoughts burst into his loft.

Her shrewd eyes immediately registered the form lying on his desk. "Ah, giving in already? And I didn't even have to bring out the big guns yet."

"I haven't decided anything yet, Lois." he replied, burying the form underneath a few books. "But when I do, I'm sure you'll be the first to know." He stood up and walked over to the sofa. Lois followed and perched herself on the arm of it.

"You should, I mean come on Clark, do you really see yourself as a farmer five years from now?"

He frowned, not really knowing where he saw himself in five years time. Working at the Daily Planet would be a very welcome scenario compared to the unknown future he was facing being who he was.

"I'm not sure exactly." he replied distractedly.

Lois' teasing smile faded and she stood up to walk over to him. "Come on Smallville, you know you'd be a great reporter if you really put your mind to it."

Clark smiled, Lois didn't do compliments, and when she did they were always delivered awkwardly, and usually accompanied by an arm punch.

"Wow, was that a compliment?" he asked with a chuckle. "What's the matter, didn't get your coffee yet today?"

Lois smirked at him. "I can be nice…when I want to be. You just don't bring it out in me that often."

Clark tilted his head, and grinned. "It must be deeply buried."

She chuckled dryly and turned away, but just before she did, Clark could swear he caught a glimpse of something. A tiny flinch. Had he hurt her feelings? Nah, it was Lois. But still, the thought didn't sit well with him.

"So what brings you here this morning?" he asked, changing the subject, hoping it would work.

By the time she turned around again, she was all smiles, any trace of hurt gone.

"Chloe, Oliver and I are all going down to Crater Lake, since it's so gorgeous outside. And for once, none of us have to work today." She tilted her head towards the window, indicating the blazing sunshine outside. "So come on Smallville, chop chop."

He shook his head and smiled to himself as she wandered off down the stairs. "Uh, Lois?"

She stopped halfway down. "Yeah?"

"What if I don't want to go?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't matter, you're going. You need to get off this farm for a little while. Besides," She threw him a wink. "As I remember it, you don't exactly look awful in a swim suit, minus the cheerleader attached to your lips, of course."

She continued down the stairs, laughing. Clark stood there a little confused. Was Lois flirting with him? He laughed, because that was such a ridiculous thought. But still…she had been making a lot of those seemingly innocent remarks lately.

Shaking his head, he started gathering things he would need, and followed after her.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter One**_

"Well it's about time you two got here," Chloe said, glancing up as they approached. She was currently lying on her front, letting Oliver put some sunscreen on her back.

Clark was genuinely pleased to see his best friend so happy. For a while it had been a little awkward, finding out that Lois' ex was now dating her cousin. But Lois didn't have a problem with it and now, things were easier and they were able to do things like today without any awkwardness.

Lois set her towel out next to them and started taking her clothes off. "Don't blame me, I had to get him out of his fortress of brooding. And you knew that would be no easy task."

"Hey! I was not brooding." he defended, irritably. But when she lifted her t-shirt over her head, revealing a skimpy red bikini underneath, that left very little to the imagination, Clark found himself having to avert his eyes. He ground his teeth together as he noticed that Lois had caught a few other men's attentions too.

"Oh that's right, no brooding, you were just applying for a job at the Planet." Lois said, teasing him.

Without realising what he was doing, Clark moved to stand in front of her as she took her pants off, effectively guarding her from the eager views of the other men. But it didn't guard her from his.

"I wasn't…"

"Clark Kent, a reporter?" Oliver said with a light snort. "Sorry big guy, it's just not something I can picture."

Clark scowled at him. "Why not?"

Oliver shrugged, replacing the cap on the sunscreen. He tossed the bottle to Lois and laughed. "I don't know, mild mannered reporter by day and…" He trailed off, but Clark knew what he was getting at. So did Chloe, if her smile was anything to go by. But he could do it, couldn't he? Separate his identities? He certainly hoped so.

"Smallville?" Frowning, he turned to Lois. "Help a lady out?" she asked, holding the bottle out to him.

He swallowed hard, an image of running his hands over that creamy skin instantly popping up in his mind. To disguise it, he smirked. "When I see one, I will."

"Well until then, you'll have to make do with me." She threw him a mock glare and turned around, her back facing him. "Come on, it won't kill you."

He took the bottle and twisted off the cap, squeezing some cream out onto his hands. He sank to his knees in the sand as she sat in front of him. With a deep breath, he rubbed his hands together and started to rub the cream into her skin.

"Mmm," she let out a slight moan, making him draw his hands back fast. She grinned over her shoulder and Clark shook his head. She was playing with him. Was she aware of how hard this was for him right now? Probably not.

"Well, if you don't wanna be a reporter Smallville, you could always become a masseur."

At her comment, he forced his hands to work a little lighter. When he was done, he cleared his throat and sat back.

"Thanks," she said, rubbing some into her arms. Then Clark's eyes widened as she abruptly turned and got onto her knees. "Your turn."

He shuffled back a little. "I…uh, I'm okay thanks."

It wasn't that he didn't want her to touch him, quite the opposite actually and they were in far too public a place for that. Where was this sudden attraction coming from? Sure he'd noticed Lois before, who wouldn't? But since when had he, himself, thought of Lois in that way?

"But you'll burn in this heat Clark." she said, sweetly.

"I'll be fine."

Then she broke into a fit of laughter and stood up. "You're still too easy Smallville." She flipped her hair behind her and ran towards the lake.

"You gonna let her get away with that Clark?" Oliver asked, an amused brow raised. Chloe sat up and leaned back into him, throwing Clark a challenging look.

That was it, he was going to get some payback.

Lois ran towards the water, still laughing, but just as she reached the edge, she glanced back and almost stumbled. Clark had peeled off his shirt and was heading straight for her. She allowed herself a very brief moment to take him all in, the way his muscles moved as he ran, the broad expanse of his chest.

Well, she'd been right when she told him wasn't bad to look at in a swim suit. Except today he was wearing long shorts. She shook her head out of those thoughts, noticing that he was gaining on her, so she dove in and let the water cool her heated skin. But the memory of his hands, so gentle on her back, wouldn't leave her alone.

After swimming out a few feet to where she could no longer touch the bottom of the lake, she noticed Clark was nowhere in sight. She couldn't see him anywhere, Chloe and Oliver were on their own, cuddling and laughing. So where was…? She felt a pair of hands grab her ankles, a split second before she was pulled under the water. She emerged, coughing and spluttering.

"Smallville, what the hell!"

Clark floated alongside her, wearing a look of satisfaction. "I thought you were an excellent swimmer."

"I am, when someone isn't sneaking up, trying to drown me." she protested.

He rolled his eyes. "I was hardly trying to drown you Lois, and anyway, you asked for it with your little stunt back there."

She swept her wet hair back from her face. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lois," he warned, a heated look entering his eyes. Or was she imagining that?

"Okay, okay, don't get your plaid in a twist."

Her smile faded at the warning look he gave her, and just before he dove for her again, she swam away. He laughed and watched her for a minute, deciding to give her a head start. When she reached the edge of the lake and climbed out, Clark suddenly couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

He was aware that he was staring, yet he couldn't stop. Her long legs glided through the shallow water as she walked onto the embankment and then she turned his way, shot him a playful look and disappeared into the woods surrounding the lake.

Lois ran a little further into the woods, listening for the sounds of footsteps coming out of the lake. She put a hand to her heaving chest, forcing herself to calm down. Her heart was racing, and not just because of the swim. With the water gleaming off his chest, it had been difficult to look anywhere else. She'd practically had to tear her gaze away and swim off.

She heard a twig snap, he was coming. She grinned and took off, running a little slower because of her bare feet. But suddenly, she lost her footing and went down, hard. She felt her head strike something, a rock? A branch? She didn't know. There was a flash of light, almost like a lightning bolt, and then all too soon, the blackness was swimming up to meet her.

"Lois?" Clark yelled, stopping to take a look around. He listened intently, but could hear no signs of her. Where was she? She couldn't have gotten that far. He walked a little further, concern now starting to take over and that was when he spotted her feet sticking out from behind a tree.

He raced over and threw himself down next to her, lowering his ear to her face to see if she was breathing. Thankfully, she was. But she had a nasty wound on her forehead that was bleeding quite badly.

"Lois." he said, gently shaking her shoulders. Slowly, her eyes started to flutter open and as soon as they landed on him, they scrunched up in pain.

"Ow." she moaned, raising a hand to her head. "Did you get the number plate of that truck?"

"What happened? Are you okay?" he asked, helping her up.

"Yeah, I'm…" She wavered as she looked at her hand, and he held onto her, bringing her body in close to his. "Wow, that's a lot of blood."

Trying to ignore the feeling of her skin in direct contact with his, he wrapped an arm around her waist and started walking. "Come on, let's get you to the hospital."

"No, no I'm fine. It's a flesh wound, Smallville. Come on, we only just got here. Let's have a little fun first huh?"

For a minute he debated doing what she said, but when she went pale and teetered, he shook his head. "No, you could have a concussion Lois. At the very least that wound needs stitches. Come on, we're going…and no arguing with me."

"I wasn't going to." she replied, looking up at him softly. Man, she must've hit her head harder than he thought. She was agreeing with him? Definitely not something that happened very often, if at all.

"Okay, come on."

As they walked away, both failed to notice that, lying a few feet away, was another person. Slowly her eyes opened and as she looked around, she saw Clark walking away from her. Someone was leaning on him as he helped her away and it took a second for her to realise that her head was pounding.

She pressed a hand to her forehead as she stood up. Then, as Lois noticed exactly who the person leaning on Clark was, her eyes went wide.

"What the…?


	3. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

"You didn't have to bring me here, Clark." Lois said as they were sitting in the waiting room at the Smallville Medical Hospital.

She held a bandage to her head, but there was barely any colour left in her face and she was obviously feeling woozy because she kept swaying. He checked his watch again, just how long was she going to have to wait to see a doctor? Okay it was fairly busy this morning, but shouldn't head wounds take precedent?

"I could've come by myself."

Clark rolled his eyes and smiled. "Lois, I know it goes against every instinct you have, but just for once, let me help you."

She opened her mouth to reply but before she could say anything, a nurse appeared in the doorway opposite. "Lois Lane?"

"That's me." she said.

Clark snaked an arm around her waist as she stood because she looked like she was about to fall over. He waited for the inevitable 'I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself' look, but it didn't come. She simply smiled gratefully and leaned on him as he guided her across the room. She really must be feeling bad, Clark thought.

"Now Miss Lane, what on earth have you been up to?" The nurse asked as Lois sat on the examination table.

"A wrestling match with a rock, I think the rock won." she replied with a grimace as the nurse pulled the temporary bandage off to take a look.

The short, blonde haired woman smiled as she studied the wound. "Mm, yes I can see that. Looks like you've got some debris in there, I'll have to wash it out before we stitch you up. Now, how are you feeling? Dizzy, nauseas?"

"Uh, a little of both I guess."

The nurse frowned as Lois swayed a little. "You do look pale. Okay, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to send you for a scan…"

"Is that really necessary?"

"I'm afraid so, I can't be sure you didn't do any damage and from the looks of things, you hit your head pretty hard. Was there any loss of consciousness?"

Lois blew out a breath and shrugged. Clark stepped up to the side of her. "Yes, she was unconscious when I found her. She couldn't have been out for more than five minutes though."

"Okay, well I'd still like to do that scan, just in case. But let's get you cleaned up first."

Lois winced. "Is it going to hurt?"

"No, I'll give you a local anaesthetic, you won't feel a thing."

If Clark hadn't known any better, he would've sworn that was fear in Lois' eyes. But Lois wasn't afraid of needles or…well of anything really. Was she?

"It's okay Lois, you'll be just fine." he said, trying to be soothing and was surprised when she turned her head slowly and just smiled at him.

It was a sweet smile, one that he didn't see very often, but it was one that had the power to knock the breath right out of him. Even though her eyes were clearly telling him she was in pain, she had never looked as beautiful as she did right then.

The nurse looked back and forth between the two of them, and smiled. "Okay then, shall we get started?"

~~~~~~~

Later that morning, Lois walked out of Metropolis General Hospital, with a dressing on her forehead and a splitting headache. But that wasn't what was troubling her.

Just how exactly was she able to witness _herself_ walking away with Clark earlier? What on earth had happened? Knowing Smallville's history, it couldn't be anything good. She felt different, but couldn't put a finger on why.

As she flagged down a taxi and gave the Daily Planet's address, she wondered whether the impostor with Clark was some sort of meteor freak, capable of stealing someone's identity. It wouldn't be the first time. She'd heard all sorts of stories from Chloe before she'd arrived there.

As soon as she got to her desk, she booted up her computer and started searching for any of Chloe's old Torch articles that might be able to help her. There was an article about a young girl who could change her body to look pretty much like anyone. Could that be what had happened to her? Was the girl that was currently with Clark this Tina Greer?

She searched for more, but came up with nothing and the more she tried to concentrate, the more her head pounded. She switched her computer off again and headed for the exit, what she needed right now was a very stiff drink. She would figure all this out later.

~~~~~~~

Clark pulled his truck up outside the farmhouse and cut the engine off. He glanced over at Lois, who was sleeping in the passenger seat.

"Lois," he said, nudging her gently. "Lois, we're here."

"Where's here?" she asked without opening her eyes.

He chuckled. "At the farm remember? You're going to stay with me for a day or two, until you're better."

"Oh, right."

Slowly her eyes fluttered open and landed on him. She looked so fragile, so small, and Clark almost laughed at the ridiculous thought. Lois was anything but fragile. She would probably kick his butt just for thinking it. And yet, here she was, accepting his help without a single argument.

"Thanks Clark."

"For what?"

"For coming with me earlier. I'm not a big fan of hospitals, not since-" She stopped and pressed her lips together, as if to stop herself from revealing too much. Clark felt a surge of protectiveness rise up in his chest.

"Lois, you don't have to thank me, that's what friends are for. And I know that it kills you to admit it, but we _are_ friends." he said with a chuckle as he got out of the truck.

When he opened her door, she was smiling at him.

"I know I don't say it a lot, but I do like being your friend Clark."

He gave her a sceptical glance as he helped her out of the truck and then walked ahead of her to unlock the back door. Just as they got inside, Shelby came bouncing up to Lois, wagging his tail rapidly.

"Shelby! Hey boy, did you miss me?" Lois said cheerfully, crouching down to rub his head.

Clark stood there smiling, waiting for the inevitable sneeze, and then it came. "Achoo!"

"Lois why don't you go into the living room and I'll make us some lunch?" he said as she stood up again.

"I could help." she offered.

Clark almost laughed until he realised that she was being serious. "Uh, that's okay, you should be resting anyway."

She shifted awkwardly. "Oh, okay. Well I'll just go and uh…yeah." She walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa.

Clark watched her for a minute because her reaction had puzzled him. Had she actually been disappointed that he didn't take her offer to help? That was how it seemed but he'd obviously been imagining it. Surely.

Shaking his head, he went over to the fridge to get something for them both to eat. But his mind kept going back to the hospital. When the nurse had been stitching her wound, Lois had held onto his hand. He was pretty sure she didn't even know she'd done it, but he couldn't figure it out.

But then again, she was injured, maybe that was just a part of it. He had to admit, it felt nice, being needed like that. Lois was always so strong, so tough, and she very rarely let her guard down. But today, he'd been seeing glimpses behind the curtain, and it was very intriguing.

"Clark?"

He peered into the living room to see Lois standing next to the TV. "Yeah?"

"Would you like to watch a movie with me?"

She was asking him? Politely? That was new, normally she just ordered him to watch one with her. Not that he minded either way, he still enjoyed spending time with her.

"Uh, sure."

"What do you want to watch?"

"You're giving me a choice?" he asked, blinking.

She smiled at him, again with that sweet smile that made his heart beat just a little bit faster, and said. "Yeah, come on. Which one?"

He picked out a movie and then went back to making their lunch, smiling to himself. He kept expecting a sarcastic barb or a witty comment, but none came. Lois Lane was certainly a mystery, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to unravel that mystery.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

"What?" Lois had to yell to be heard over the music of the club she was currently sitting in. She hadn't planned it, but after meeting a couple of army guys in the Ace of Clubs, she hadn't wanted the party to end.

A short, dark-haired guy she'd seen eyeing her from the bar had just sauntered over with two drinks in his hands and a telling smile on his face. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious show of attraction. And he really wasn't all that good looking. But he'd obviously thought she was an easy target. Boy was he about to find out how wrong he was.

"I said…" he yelled back, leaning down close to her ear. "Would you like to dance with me, sugar?"

"Not in this lifetime." She mumbled to herself, then pulled her head back and smiled. "Sugar? Really? Wow, I think you might've swept me off my feet there handsome. Better take it easy." This time she did roll her eyes as she looked away.

"Oh come on, don't be like that." Totally ignoring her sarcasm, he sat down in the booth next to her, effectively pinning her in. The army guys she'd come here with were at the bar getting drinks so she was alone.

She smiled icily at him. "Tell you what, I'm going to pretend that's not your hand I can feel on my leg, and you are going to remove it before I break your fingers. Sound fair?"

He quickly moved his hand, but kept his face within kissing distance. "Come on sweetness, I know you're looking for a little fun."

"Yep, just not with you, I prefer to spend my time with people I actually like."

A frown creased his forehead as he spent a few minutes obviously trying to decide whether she was worth all this hassle. Then he shook his head, mumbling something under his breath, and left her alone.

"Was that guy bothering you Lois?" One of the army men, Dave, asked as they returned.

She took her drink from him and chuckled. "Nothing I can't handle. Now come on, don't make me prove to you guys that I can drink you under the table."

The two burly men shared an amused glance. "Bring it on Lois, let's see what you got."

See, there was a reason Lois had decided to hang out with these two tonight, they weren't sleaze balls only interested in getting into her pants. No, they were like buddies, even though she didn't even know them. But they weren't going to be in the city for long and they just wanted to have a good time, and for now, so did she.

She couldn't explain it, but she felt exhilarated, like she was free. It was strange, and she knew she should be looking into her impostor, but at the moment she was having so much fun, she just didn't care.

She clinked her shot glass against theirs. "Bottoms up boys."

~~~~~~~~

Clark stretched his arms out above his head as the credits started to roll on the movie. Glancing to his left, he saw the reason for why Lois had gone so quiet. She was fast asleep. One corner of his mouth tilted up in a half smile, she looked so…small, curled up like that. Her legs were tucked up underneath her and her head was resting on the arm of the sofa.

Now ordinarily, Clark would never associate the word 'cute' with Lois Lane, but that was what she was right now. In fact, all evening she'd been pleasant to be around, no sarcasm, no banter, and although he enjoyed their verbal sparring more than he would admit, it made a nice change.

He found himself staring at her, unable to look away. When had his feelings for her changed? Or had they always been there? He wasn't exactly sure how he should deal with these feelings, should he tell her? Probably not, she would laugh at him and he wasn't sure he could deal with the blow to his pride.

But then his mind flashed back to the lake that morning, she had been eyeing him as much as he had her. Maybe she was feeling something too. He rubbed his palms on his jeans as pictures of rubbing that damn sun cream onto her back invaded his mind. He could still feel the softness of her skin.

Shaking his head, he stood up and kneeled down in front of her.

Without thinking about it, he gently smoothed a lock of hair out of her eyes and smiled. "Lois. Wake up."

She groaned and turned her head away from him, then winced out loud when she caught her forehead on the arm of the sofa. She muttered something that he didn't quite catch and then her eyes opened and latched onto his.

"Smallville? What time is it?"

"Almost midnight. You fell asleep."

She frowned and looked at the TV which was now turned off. "I missed the ending?"

"You've seen it before. Come on, I think its time for you to get to bed." He stood up and walked into the kitchen to get her something to drink, fully expecting her to tell him she wasn't a child that needed to be told when to go to bed.

Instead, what he got was her yawning, nodding and then standing up. He didn't have time to be surprised, however, because as she stood, her legs buckled and she pitched forwards. Envisioning another trip to the ER, Clark quickly swept in and caught her just before she would've hit her head on the coffee table.

"Uh, thanks." she said, half lying in his arms and making no move to get up. And for some strange reason, Clark stayed like that too. He liked the feel of her in his arms.

Their eyes locked and for a moment, Clark found it difficult to breathe. Her eyes sparkled, like tiny diamonds in a sea of hazel. How had he never noticed her eyes before? __

Maybe because she's always rolling them at you?

"No problem, Lois you need to be more careful, you have a concussion, you can't move too quickly."

She smiled up at him and then all of a sudden, her face scrunched up in pain. "Don't move!" she hissed.

He froze. "What's wrong?"

"Stay very still."

"Lois, just tell me what's wrong." he said, beginning to worry.

"Pins and needles, and wow it hurts. My legs must've fallen asleep."

Clark chuckled in relief that it was nothing serious, waited a few more minutes, and slowly stood her up, trying not to move her too much. He'd never once had pins and needles, but from the looks of Lois' face, it wasn't fun. "You okay?"

"I will be in a minute." She winced again as she found a position she was comfortable with, and then again, her eyes met his. "Thanks Clark. I guess that's twice today you've saved my brain from being turned to mush."

His eyes roamed her pale face and he reached up to touch her forehead gently. "Not quite."

He heard her breath hitch in her throat, was she as affected by his presence as he was by hers? It felt like every nerve was alive just by her being so close. Like some sort of magnetic force was keeping him here, he couldn't pull away.

"I guess uh…I should really…uh…"

Clark smiled at the lack of response, she was struggling to form a single sentence so that must mean something coming from a woman who talked so much she could give you a headache. But as he watched her silently, her eyes dimmed a little and he knew he couldn't act on anything. Not tonight anyway. She was clearly exhausted.

"Come on, I'll help you upstairs."

"Where are you sleeping?" she asked as she let him take her hand and lead her to the stairs.

"In my room."

She paused. "Well, uh, where am I sleeping?"

She almost looked a little afraid of the answer, Clark thought. "You'll be sleeping in my mom's room. It's all ready for you."

"Oh, that's good. Thanks Smallville."

"You don't have to thank me Lois, it's what I'm here for." Why was she always thanking him? She never thanked him, well not without grumbling about it first.

Clark walked her to her room and once he was satisfied that she was okay, he said goodnight then went to stand outside on the back porch. He needed to gather his thoughts because they were all over the place. What was going on?

Yes, he'd always found Lois attractive, and yes he did feel something for her. But the question was what? When had that attraction become so strong? When had it all changed?

Feeling more confused than ever because all he wanted to do at this moment was march back upstairs and kiss her, Clark looked towards the sky. Millions of stars twinkled, capturing his gaze. It always calmed him, seeing how many were out there, but tonight it wasn't working. And he had a feeling that the brown-haired beauty upstairs was to blame.

It was the softer side that he'd been seeing a lot of tonight that was throwing him. She just seemed so…different. Where had the hostility gone? The constant swipes and teases. He shook his head, knowing that he was being silly, she had a pretty nasty concussion, of course she was going to be a little out of sorts.

Hesitating only for a second, Clark used his super hearing, and after hearing that she was already fast asleep, he sped off, needing to feel the wind in his hair. Hopefully it would work and he could return home with a clear head.

* * *

The following morning, Lois woke up to the smell of bacon and instantly her eyes flew open. She waited for a moment, hoping the pain wouldn't follow the sudden movement and sighed in relief when it didn't.

Throwing back the covers, she reached for a robe and headed downstairs. But she was not prepared for what she saw when she got there. Clark was standing in the kitchen, wearing his pyjamas and his hair was all ruffled. _He has sexy bed hair_, she thought to herself, standing on the bottom step, watching him as he moved back and forth between the fridge and the counter.

He was dividing the food he'd just cooked between two plates and she noticed that he had one of them and a glass of orange juice on a tray. Her chest fluttered at the obvious gesture and she knew that she wasn't supposed to, but she couldn't help but like the way he was taking care of her.

She'd never really had anyone to do that before, her father was always busy and Lucy was too young. So she'd had to take care of herself. She shifted her weight and the step creaked, bringing Clark's attention to her.

"Hey," he said softly. "I thought you were still asleep."

Pinned under his gaze, Lois swallowed. "Uh, I smelled the breakfast. It smells great by the way.

His gaze swept across the tray, and she thought she saw a hint of a wince on his face. What was that about?

"I wasn't sure if you would be hungry. But since you're up, take a seat. It'll be ready in a second."

She did as he suggested, taking a seat at the table in the dining room. She wasn't used to being taken care of, but as she watched him, she decided she could definitely get used to it.

* * *

Back in Metropolis, the other Lois groaned and cracked one eye open. Her head felt like it was going to explode. Though whether it beat her stomach to the punch remained to be seen.

Last night may have been fun, but she was regretting the bet she'd made with those guys now. Though she'd won, it was a small consolation to her. From what she could remember, they'd been perfect gentlemen, insisting on walking her home, making sure she was safe.

At some points of the evening, it felt like they saw her as a little sister type figure, probably because she was a General's daughter, which both irritated and pleased her. At least she hadn't had to fight them off. But in general, she remembered having a lot of fun. Which she had been sorely missing lately. Her job had taken over so much that she barely made time for herself anymore. That had to stop.

She laid there for a while, trying to work out whether she should even bother getting out of bed, but when nature called she knew she had no choice. Stumbling towards the bathroom, Lois did her business, then went about washing her face. The cold water felt so good against her skin.

She pulled the bandage on her forehead off and inspected her wound. It looked better today, not so angry, but it would still need covering for now. Which was a serious pain, she might as well put a sign on her forehead saying 'Please feel free to gawk at me'. Sighing, she shook her head, she needed coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

In hindsight, drinking whilst under the effects of a concussion had been a very bad idea. But it was too late now, the only thing she could do, was get her coffee and go straight back to bed. But as soon as her head hit the pillow, a barrel of thoughts came swirling through her mind.

She couldn't sleep in today, she had a lot of work to do. She still had to figure out who her impostor was, what was she doing with Clark right now? Lois frowned as she realised that thought bothered her a lot. She wasn't jealous or anything, no, it was the idea that he would no doubt be sitting down to breakfast right about now, with a girl he didn't know.

She knew he'd have taken her back to the farm, since that was Clark all over. Mr knight in shining armour. He would've offered to take care of her and it was the perfect disguise wasn't it? Pretend to be his friend to gain entry into his life. She was sure of it. But how could she stop it? No one got to mess with Clark except Lois. That was her job and she loved doing it.

She turned onto her side and closed her eyes, figuring that a couple more hours sleep wouldn't do any harm. And she needed it. But then her thoughts went in a different direction and all she could see was Clark. He was hot, that much she knew since finding him naked in that cornfield years ago.

But his body wasn't the sole reason for his allure, no, it was the way he carried himself too. Sometimes he was the most assertive guy she'd ever met, then others, he was all meek and gentle. He was an enigma, and Lois hated enigmas. But for the first time, she actually found herself wanting to figure him out.

As she drifted back into a peaceful slumber, she smiled, remembering the image of a very naked and very large farm boy.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Chapter Four**_

Lois walked into the barn later that evening to find Clark chopping some wood. She stayed near the door for a few moments, just watching him. Each time he brought the axe down, the muscles in his back rippled and Lois was completely drawn to the way he moved. So fluidly, like it wasn't the effort she knew chopping wood was. No wonder he was in such good shape.

She shook her head, trying to dispel the sudden image of him doing something else that required those muscles, and cleared her throat to get his attention. His head spun around just as he brought the axe down and hit the floor, making the head of it snap clean off. Lois' eyes widened.

"Careful Smallville, that's an accident waiting to happen."

"I didn't hear you come in." he said, looking down at the now broken axe with a grimace. He tossed the handle to the side and walked over to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better actually. My headache is even going now."

"That's good."

She saw his eyes sweep over her forehead, as if he were inspecting it and he was so close that she had to resist the sudden urge to smooth her hair out. The silence stretched out around them, and as their eyes met and locked onto each other's, Lois could feel the sparks practically dancing in the air between them. His mouth tilted up into a smile and she couldn't help but respond. Every hair on the back of her neck was standing to attention and she could feel a tingling sensation working its way down her spine.

"So uh…" She had to speak up, because the power his eyes had over her was a little overwhelming.

Clark blinked as if some sort of spell had been broken and stepped back a little. "I'm glad you're feeling better Lois."

"I guess I should be heading back to Metropolis soon."

"What? Why?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Because I'm feeling better now, and I've taken up enough of your time. You don't need to take care of me Smallville."

"No, but…I kinda liked it."

His voice was so quiet she'd almost missed what he said. She didn't know how to respond to that, this was Clark. They were friends, nothing more. Then why was she feeling so shy around him all of a sudden?

At well over six feet, Clark towered over her, and she could imagine that, to a stranger, he could come off as a little intimidating. But to her, it was just a little unnerving, he was just so…_handsome_. That's the only word that would come to mind at the moment. Yeah, definitely handsome. With eyes that could hypnotise you if you weren't careful.

She wasn't naïve, she knew that she'd been developing feelings for him over the past couple of months, she just hadn't been aware of how strong they were. Or that they seemed to be getting stronger the more time she spent around him. But was he feeling the same way?

"Look, why don't you just stay here tonight? It's too late for you to be driving back to Metropolis anyway, and I would feel better if you weren't driving with a concussion."

He stepped closer again, and for the briefest of moments, she thought he was going to kiss her.

"You look tired Lois, you should stay and get some more rest."

And just like that, her ego deflated. She swallowed thickly, unsure why her feelings were hurt. It wasn't as if he was lying, she was awfully tired. And right now, the idea of crawling under a duvet and hiding until morning was very appealing.

"What is it, Lois?" he asked softly, his keen eyes watching her closely.

She gave him a smile and shrugged. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"No I know you, something's bothering you. What is it?"

"I'm okay really, Clark. You don't have to worry about me. But you know what? I am feeling pretty tired, and I must look like a wreck, so I think I'll just call it a night…"

She was about to turn away when he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to face him.

"Lois…" Clark paused, he didn't know what he'd planned on saying after pulling her back to him, he just hadn't wanted her to go just yet. Something in her expression had alerted him, something almost like…her feelings had been hurt? No, that couldn't be it.

He tried to remember what he'd said to cause any reaction and the only thing he could think of was saying she looked tired. But Lois wasn't bothered about looks, at least not as much as other girls, so why wasn't she currently taking a chunk out of him for his comment? It wasn't like her. His internal musing quickly faded as she looked up at him, with such undeniable vulnerability in her eyes. He _had_ hurt her feelings.

"Yes Clark?" she asked, waiting for him to say something.

He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked, that she had always been that way to him. But something told him she wouldn't believe him if he did. Her tongue poked out of her mouth to lick her bottom lip and he found his gaze following the action. The air seemed to pulsate around him, closing in, fast. He didn't think, couldn't if he'd wanted to, he just moved. He lifted a hand to her face, trailing his fingertips down the curve of her cheek.

Lois held her breath, feeling her whole body sway towards him. It was like a magnetic force pulling her. She lowered her lashes to avoid his gaze, but he countered it by placing a fingertip beneath her chin, pinning her gaze with his.

"Lois…I…" He paused again, struggling to find the words.

Lois felt like she was standing on the edge of a precipice, about to fall at any moment. How could Clark Kent make her feel this way? It was _Clark_. But before she had a chance to finish that thought, he bent his head and lowered his mouth to hers. Lois had no time to prepare herself for his kiss, not that she could have even if she'd planned to.

His lips caressed hers, softly at first, as if he was waiting for her to pull back. But she didn't, she couldn't. Then the pressure of his mouth on hers grew and grew until with just one thrust of his tongue, she opened up to him, her whole body melting in his hold.

His tongue explored her mouth in shockingly intimate detail, his hands left her upper arms to press themselves against her back, drawing her closer to him until she felt the hard planes of his chest against hers. Her fingers worked their way into his hair as she tilted her head, allowing his kiss to go deeper, and she became lost in his embrace as she responded.

But the need for air soon became a problem and Lois had to pull away to catch her breath. With their chests still touching, Lois could feel the pounding of his heart, or was that hers? She wasn't sure. She wasn't even sure of her own name right now. She had never, in her wildest dreams, thought that Clark Kent could kiss like that.

Clark for his part, seemed to be as shocked as she felt, he was breathing heavily and his eyes were glazed over, as if he were in some sort of trance.

"I uh…" she started. But then a different look appeared and he cocked his head to the side, as if listening to something.

"Lois, I'm sorry…I uh, didn't mean for that to happen…" he said, looking guilty.

Lois shook her head, and stepped out of his embrace, feeling her spirits take a nosedive. It was obvious he hadn't expected that to happen. "It's okay Clark. It was just a kiss."

"No you don't understand…"

"No, really, it's fine." She drew in a deep breath and started walking towards the barn door on shaky legs. "Why don't we just pretend that that never happened. I really need to go and get some sleep. Goodnight Smallville."

Clark watched her go, half of him feeling awful for letting her walk out, the other half still reeling from that kiss. He'd had no idea that it would be like that with her. He shook his head, he would have to deal with it later, right now he had somewhere he needed to be. People were in trouble, and he couldn't ignore that no matter how much he wanted to stay and talk to Lois, and maybe…just maybe, kiss her some more.

Inside the house, Lois sat on her bed rocking back and forth, lost in thought. She pressed her fingertips to her lips, they were still tingling from Clark's unexpected kiss. She wondered what had made him do it, what made him act like that. He certainly seemed to regret it after it was over and the fog had cleared. She rested her elbows on her knees, leaning her face into her hands, then winced as she caught her wound.

She had to get out of here, she couldn't think straight being in his house, with his things all around her. His scent in her head. She needed to get away. She grabbed her jacket and purse, fished out her car keys and headed downstairs. She peered into the living room, relieved to see that he wasn't anywhere in sight, and walked out the back door.

~~~~~~

"Lois?" Clark called out as he entered the farm house a few hours later. The people he'd heard earlier had indeed needed his help, but it had turned into a much bigger problem, taking longer than he'd anticipated. A house fire had spiralled out of control, spreading to the other houses that were surrounding it. He hadn't been able to leave until he was sure that everyone was safe and the fire was completely out. Doing so whilst trying to remain hidden had proven difficult, but he'd managed in the end.

He glanced around as he took off his red jacket, everywhere was silent, with the lights all turned off downstairs. It was pretty late, she must've gone to bed already. He sighed and sat down on the sofa. He really needed to talk to her, but she needed to rest, so it would have to wait until morning. He just hoped she would be in a listening mood.

It was strange, but seeing the way she'd been over the last day or so had struck something in him. Something deep. But there was something that was slightly…off about it all. Where had the sarcasm gone? The banter? It was almost like she was a new Lois, and while he liked the softer side, he also found himself missing the old Lois too.

But then, head injuries were serious for a reason. Who knew what could get messed up after hitting your head hard on a rock? Humans were so fragile. And the funny thing was, until now, he'd never once thought of Lois as fragile.

With another sigh that was much heavier this time, he made his way upstairs and paused outside his room. He frowned, looking at Lois' bedroom door and before he knew what he was doing, his feet were carrying him towards that door. He opened it carefully, intending on just peeking in to see if she was okay, but when he did, he was shocked to see that the bed was empty. And so was the room.

"Lois?" Maybe she was in the bathroom. He crossed the hall and opened the bathroom door, but there was no sign in there either. Where was she? He made his way back downstairs and outside, a sinking feeling hit him as he realised her car was gone. Closing his eyes, he tried to push back the feeling of guilt. Had he chased her away with his kiss? Been too forward? With a grimace he opened his eyes, slammed the door shut and sped away.

He came to an abrupt stop just outside of Metropolis. Frowning, he listened harder, and the sound of laughter and loud music filled his head. _Her_ laughter. Following it, he soon found himself standing outside the Ace of Clubs. What on earth was she doing here?

~~~~~~

"Hey Colin!" Lois called to the bartender, still laughing as she tapped her hand on the bar. He turned to her with a weary smile.

"Same again sweetheart?"

"You know it." she replied.

He set about pouring her drinks. "Rough day?"

Lois rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore the cliché. "Not exactly but it hasn't been very productive either, you know, you'd think it'd be much easier to find information in a city this big."

"Not that it's any of my business Lois but, don't you think you've had enough tonight?"

She smiled at him. "You know what? You're right," She gave him the money and grabbed a tray for her drinks. "It is none of your business. But thanks."

As Clark stepped off the elevator, his eyes scanned the crowd. He couldn't yet see her, but he knew she was here, he could still hear her. He headed over to the bar and flagged down the bartender.

"Hey Clark, what can I get you?"

"Nothing for me thanks, I was wondering if you've seen Lois tonight?"

Colin chuckled dryly. "You could say that. She's over there."

Clark's gaze followed the direction that Colin was pointing in and his jaw fell open. Lois was sitting at one of the tables, downing shot after shot, with a bunch of people standing around her cheering and whooping. Great, this was just what he needed to deal with right now.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter Five**_

"How long has she been here?" Clark asked, a frown pulling his brows together as he watched a handful of men cheering Lois on.

He couldn't work out why she would come here, especially after telling him she was so tired. _That was a lie Clark_, he told himself. She'd obviously just wanted to get away from him, after their kiss. He knew she had a bolt reflex but he didn't realise it was wound so tightly. Clearly it hadn't affected her the way it had him. He still couldn't get it out of his mind.

"About an hour." Colin replied. "But I think she's more than ready to go home, if you catch my drift Clark."

Taking Colin's warning look, Clark walked over to the table and waited for her to spot him. As she tilted her head back to swallow another shot, her eyes caught onto his and then something strange happened. Her eyes flared as she looked him over. Was she…checking him out? She slammed the glass down on the table and shot out of her seat.

"Clark! Hey, what are you doing here?" She was clearly tipsy, if not drunk, he thought. She shouldn't be here, not with a concussion and with all these guys who were only encouraging her.

"I should be asking you the same question." He crossed his arms over his chest, aware that he probably looked like an outraged father right now, but he was just concerned about her behaviour.

"What? A girl can't have a little fun every once in a while?" she replied, jutting her hip out and grinning at him as she mimicked his stance and folded her arms.

"How much have you had to drink exactly?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "I lost count. Doesn't matter though, because I am having a blast!"

Clark glanced at the men, who had gone back to their drinking game without her, but one or two still had their eyes on her. He didn't like it. "I can see that."

"Aww, don't tell me Clarkie's jealous?"

"No, I'm not. I'm worried about you." he replied, in a clipped tone.

"Me, whatever for? As you can see, apart from the lovely band aid on my forehead, I am perfectly…" A hiccup appeared from nowhere, making her laugh. "Fine. See?"

"Come on, I'm taking you home." He went to grab her arm but she stepped back abruptly, her foot caught on the leg of a chair and she fell backwards into someone's lap.

Laughing, she wound her arms around the surprised guy's neck and smiled. "Why thank you kind sir."

"No problem ma'am." he replied, laughing along with her. And though he knew it was stupid because Lois was clearly not herself, Clark could not stop the wave of jealousy that hit him. But what surprised him more was how strong it was.

"Alright, that's it. Come on." This time he did grab her arm, hauling her up and away from the crowd.

"I love it when you get all man-handle-y Smallville." She pulled on his collar to bring his head down to hers, then she whispered in his ear. "Its hot."

Clark closed his eyes against the sudden shiver that shot down his spine and took a step back. "Lois…what are you doing here? I thought you were going to…"

"Oh my God, I love this song!" Lois exclaimed and started pulling his arm. "Come on Smallville, dance with me."

"I don't think that's a good idea Lois."

She threw him an impish grin. "Oh come on, maybe shaking that booty will help loosen the stick that's lodged up there."

"Lois!" he yelled, but she either couldn't or wouldn't hear him.

She dragged him onto the dance floor and let go of his arm, swaying her hips in time with the music. He turned to leave, but she stopped him by stepping in front of him, and placing her hands on his hips, forcing him to move as she was.

Leaning in again, she spoke softly in his ear. "Come on, just for once, have some fun with me. Will it kill you?"

He moved his head back a little and looked into her eyes. Her smile was so infectious that he soon found himself smiling along with her. "Lois, I don't dance. You know that."

"Follow my lead Smallville." Was there ever a challenge that this woman didn't take on?

Clark laughed uncomfortably as Lois started dancing in front of him, grabbing his arms and making him do the same. After a little while it became easier, he felt less self-conscious as he became lost in her world. Just for a little while, he did what she asked, he let go and had fun.

All the thoughts of why she'd come here, drifted away for the time being, and he was just content to be in her company. Plus, he had to admit, the sight of her dancing in front of him, at times a little too close, was something he didn't mind seeing at all.

Eventually she'd had enough and pulled him towards the balcony doors. Stepping outside, the wind swept through her hair, and he caught a little sigh from her that did strange things to his insides.

He watched her, as she leaned on the wall and looked out over the city. It was quite empty out here, but he guessed it was because it was getting pretty late. He hovered close by, mostly because he wanted to be near her, but also because she was quite drunk and leaning over the edge of a pretty impressive drop. It made him nervous.

Or was it just Lois that made him feel that way?

He got his answer when she pitched forward, holding her arms out either side of her, her head tilted back and her eyes closed. It wasn't enough to go over, but it was enough to scare the life out of him.

"Lois!" He grabbed both her arms and dragged her backwards, sending her crashing into his chest.

She turned around and linked her hands behind his head, giggling. "If you wanted me Smallville, you only had to ask. But I like this new manly side of you."

"Lois…what-?" His question was cut off by her lips suddenly crashing down on his, surprising him. But he soon recovered, and the same reactions he'd had in the barn were returning now. He wrapped his arms around her waist, deepening the kiss, grabbing a fistful of her hair so that he could tilt her head and kiss her the way he really wanted to. Deeply, tenderly, but there was also a hint of aggression in her kiss and he found himself responding to it.

When she pulled back, she was more than a little breathless. "Wow, who knew you could kiss like that?"

He barely disguised a yelp when her hands grabbed his butt and squeezed. Then she laughed. "Mm, why you always have to wear jeans that hide this, is beyond me."

"What has gotten into you?" he asked, not exactly sure whether this new attitude was entirely down to the alcohol or not. If she'd only been here an hour, how much could she have really had? He scoffed at that question, this was Lois.

"Its called fun Clark. I realise that's an alien concept to you but come on, you can't tell me you weren't enjoying dancing with me."

The whole time she spoke, he noticed her eyes were doing a sweep of him, as if she couldn't take them off his body. Strangely, instead of making him feel uncomfortable, her blatant perusal made his blood heat in his veins, his pulse beat a little faster.

She let her fingers walk their way up his chest and whispered. "Come on, admit it. You want me."

Just as her hand was about to cup his cheek, he grabbed it and held it away, needing the space to think clearly. "Lois, why did you take off earlier? Why did you come here?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, frowning, seemingly getting frustrated that he was changing the subject.

"Earlier, in the barn, after we…"

That got her attention. She narrowed her eyes. "After we what?"

"You know, after we…kissed."

Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline as she abruptly stood back. "We what?"

"You do remember us kissing don't you?" he asked, wondering if her head injury wasn't quite as simple as he'd first thought. Maybe she had some sort of amnesia. Was that even possible? He'd have to look into it. First he had to take care of her.

Lois shook her head, barely containing her anger. He had kissed her imposter? What the hell had he been thinking? How could he…? _Come on Lois, he thinks she's you_. She forced herself to take a deep breath and not overreact. Maybe this could be an opportunity to get some information. God knew she was hitting enough dead ends everywhere else.

"Yeah, I uh…I guess I just blanked it out. Um…" She put a hand to her forehead, feeling the band-aid there and an idea struck her. "I'm not feeling so good."

As expected, concern took over and he was right there, hovering over her. "Maybe you should let me take you home. You shouldn't have been drinking with a concussion."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his father-like tone and said. "That's probably a good idea. But can you take me to the farm? I don't want to be alone."

"Sure, okay. Come on." Taking her arm, he led her out of the club.

~~~~~~

Back at her apartment, Lois snuggled under the covers a little deeper. Sniffling, she reached out and turned off the lamp beside her bed, plunging her into darkness. It seemed fitting for her mood at the moment, she was utterly confused and though she hated to admit it, a little upset too.

She felt like there was a black hole inside her, like something was missing but she had no idea what. What had she been thinking, letting Clark kiss her like that? Letting herself get caught up in it? The answer was simple really, she wasn't thinking and now she was paying the price.

She had no illusions where Clark was concerned. She wasn't foolish enough to think that he would like her in _that_ way. For years she had been nothing but a thorn in his side, she knew that. But for one second, just one, she was convinced she had been wrong.

But his reaction after what could only be described as the best kiss she'd ever had, was enough to extinguish any fire that had started between them. Sighing, she turned over, and her eyes caught on something. Her closet door was open, and she was sure she'd left it closed.

She got out of bed and walked over to it, turning the light on inside. Some of her clothes were missing, the ones she usually saved for going out in. Where were they?

Frantically she looked around, noticing things weren't the way they were when she'd left. Someone had been in here. But they hadn't taken anything, nothing that she could see anyway. Even so, it left her feeling scared and suddenly, very alone.

She grabbed her cell phone and started dialling Clark, but then paused. She couldn't call him. Not now. She needed more time before she spoke to him again. So she cancelled it and dialled another number.

"Hello?" said a groggy voice on the other end.

"Oliver, it's me. I need your help, I think someone was in my apartment."

"Lois? Where are you?"

"At home, can you come? Please?"

"Sure, I'll be right there. Stay put and make sure all your windows and doors are locked."

"Thank you." She hung up and crept back into bed, keeping her eyes peeled just in case anyone jumped out of the shadows. _Please hurry Ollie._


	7. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

"How are you feeling now?" Clark asked as he opened the door to the farmhouse a little later that evening.

"Hmm? Oh I'm fine." she replied distractedly. Clark watched her carefully, she seemed to be looking for something as she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes fell on the stairs and her expression darkened for a moment. But by the time she turned around to face him, she was smiling again.

"So…what exactly happened here earlier?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, swallowing hard as she sauntered up to him, and laid her hands on his chest.

"We kissed. What was that about?"

Standing this close to her, smelling her perfume, was seriously making it hard for him to think let alone speak. The buzz that he'd felt in the barn with her earlier, was still there, and if possible, it was getting stronger. He bunched his hands into fists at his sides to keep from wrapping them around her waist. "Uh, well, it was…I don't know Lois. It just sort of…happened."

"Just like that? There was no motivation on your part?" she asked, and he could swear she was smirking at him. Was she teasing him?

He rolled his eyes and stepped back. "Well of course there was. I wanted to kiss you, Lois and from what I remember, you wanted it just as much."

"Really? Well, I seem to have forgotten all about it, so…how about a little action replay?"

Her eyes locked onto his and as she zeroed in on her target, Clark lost the ability to think. Her lips attacked his and he responded, drawing her body flush up against his as he fell back against the kitchen sink. What was it about Lois that made him forget to think? To breathe?

He gently cupped the back of her head, but his kiss matched hers in its intensity. He'd never felt anything like this before. She was turning his world upside down and he suspected she knew it too. There was a fire in her kiss that hadn't been there before.

Before it had been sweet, tender, passionate but full of emotion. This kiss, it was…something else entirely. Desire and longing crawled its way into his body, making it tighten in response to her. What was she doing to him?

"Lois…" he said, his breathing heavy as he broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "We should stop."

"Why? Don't you like it?" He was pleased to note that her breathing was also fast.

"Of course I do, its not that. I just think maybe…we're moving too fast."

She winked at him. "There's no such thing Smallville. It's obvious you like me, and I like you. What's the point in wasting time discussing it?"

"But when did this happen? You can't stand me."

"Don't be so sure Smallville." She swatted his chest playfully as she turned and sat down at the counter in the middle of the kitchen. Clark stayed where he was, unable to move for a moment until he'd calmed himself down.

"See this is your problem Clark, you think way too much. First it was with Lana, and now it's with me. Do you ever do anything spontaneous?"

His brows rose. "Spontaneous?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Yes, you know, throw caution to the wind, never look back…fun?"

Clark bristled a little at that. "Yes."

"Really? Like what? And tipping cows doesn't count." she laughed.

"I've done spontaneous things." he said, very aware that his tone had become defensive.

She folded her arms and sent him a challenging look. "Okay, name one."

"Well…I…uh…" He frowned, trying to remember something, anything he could tell her. Unfortunately, the only spontaneous things he had ever done was when he'd been on red kryptonite. Although, he probably could tell her, he just didn't need to mention the red k.

"Can't come up with anything can ya?" she smirked.

Okay, that was really beginning to irritate him. What was she so smug about anyway? And how could she be so calm after that kiss? It was all he could do not to grab her right now and plant another one on her. He dug his fingers into the wood of the counter behind him, not even caring right now that he was splintering the wood.

"It's not your fault you've led a sheltered life Smallville. But…"

That was it, enough was enough. He couldn't take anymore of her teasing, because while she talked, she was slowly but purposefully shifting in her seat, making her already too short skirt ride up a little more. The exposed creaminess of her skin, combined with her constant jabs were taking their toll and Clark finally snapped.

"A couple of years ago, you and I did something rather spontaneous…"

He had the brief satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen for a second, before she regained her composure. Why did she always have to goad him into revealing things that were better left buried? What did Lois Lane have that made him want to impress her so much?

Because he now knew that's what it was. He'd never had to impress anyone before, but Lois, she had always seen him as a geeky farm boy and he really wanted to change that image. He was going to have to, if he had any chance at all with her.

"What exactly do you mean by spontaneous?" she asked, her expression sobering a little now.

"Well, let's just say that we…had a great time together." he replied, starting to regret his sudden outburst now. There was no way he was going to be able to back track on this, he would have to tell her what happened between them.

She scoffed. "Don't you think I would remember if we'd done…anything like _that_?"  
Then her jaw dropped. "You're not talking about Valentine's Day are you? Because if you are, I'm going to start swinging. You told me nothing happened!"

Shoot, he'd forgotten about that. Now what? "Uh, nothing did happen. But something _almost_ happened."

She abruptly got off her stool and smacked him in the chest. "Why wouldn't you tell me about something like that?"

"Because you were so freaked out by the idea, so I thought as long as you didn't remember, it would be kinder to let you think nothing happened."

That seemed to do the trick, she still glared at him, but she seemed to calm down and then returned to her seat. "So come on, spill it. I want to know."

"We just…kissed, mostly." he replied, feeling his face heat up, and wishing he could start this day over. He seemed to have caught Lois' foot in mouth disease today and he still had no idea why she'd taken off earlier when she'd said she would stay one more night.

"Mostly? Oh there's more to it than that. I can see it on your face."

"We almost…look does it matter? It was in the past and that's where it should stay. Nothing else happened and…"

"So why didn't we?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why didn't we _do_ _it_?"

Blinking at her candidness, Clark faltered for a second. "Because uh, I got sidetracked by something else."

Lois rolled her eyes. "Or some_one_ else. I remember that party we gate crashed, I remember looking like a total idiot in that outfit. And I remember being jilted."

"I'm sorry…" he started, but she huffed and got up again.

"See, there you go again! Stop apologising Clark, I can handle the truth, I'm a big girl."

"You're not mad?" he asked, surprised.

"Nope, not really. But next time, don't keep all the juicy details from me, deal?" She moved over to him, throwing him a wink along the way and Clark was right back to being confused.

He frowned. _Juicy_, really? "Deal." Wait, did she say next time?

"Okay, so I guess that's one spontaneous thing you've done. What else?"

Clark smiled at her, marvelling at how easily she just shrugged things off. He wasn't used to that. He was used to having to explain a thousand times, then apologise a thousand times more. But Lois was different, she didn't need him to do that.

"I've got one." she said, a wicked smile on her face.

"Oh you do?" he asked, eyebrows raised in amusement for what she was about to say.

"Mm-hmm. This." She grabbed his head and kissed him again, and this time, he didn't fight it. He wrapped himself around her, and lost himself in her kiss.

Back in Metropolis, Lois was freaking out. She sat on her bed, clutching her phone in her hand and keeping her eyes peeled. She almost shrieked out loud when she heard a bang on her apartment door.

"Lois? It's me, open up." Oliver's voice yelled, muffled through the door.

Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Lois lunged off her bed and out into the living room, where she threw open the door and launched herself into his arms.

"Thank God you're here. I was freaking out!"

Oliver put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back so that he could take a look at her. What he saw, he didn't like. She was terrified, shaking and shivering. He guided her over to the sofa and sat down with her.

"What happened Lois?"

"I came home, and I found some things were missing. Mostly clothes from my closet and some of my jewellery. Someone was in here Ollie, in my home."

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe," he said comfortingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. This was not like Lois at all. Okay sure, if she'd had an intruder, she'd be scared, but not this badly. This was a side of her he'd never seen before and he'd known her for years.

"What if they come back? I don't want to be here by myself." she sniffled.

Was she crying? That sent alarm bells ringing in his head. He glanced at the band-aid on her forehead and remembered she'd taken a pretty hard knock to her head a couple of days ago. Maybe this was part of that. He didn't know and he was a little confused as to what to do about it too.

"Okay, get some things together, you're staying with me tonight." he said.

"Really?"

"Yes, I won't leave you here alone when you're obviously…afraid." He hesitated to use that word, fearing a lashing retort, and was even more surprised when one didn't come.

Instead she just nodded. "Okay, thanks. I really appreciate this Ollie. I'm sorry to call you like this."

"No problem, isn't that what friends are for? You know you can always call me Lois."

She smiled gratefully and kissed him on the cheek, then headed into her bedroom.

"So how come you're not at the farm? I thought you were staying with Clark." he said, standing in the open doorway and watching as she grabbed a small overnight bag and started packing it.

"That didn't work out. And I really don't want to talk about it, please."  
_  
Whoa, touchy subject there_. "Okay, sorry. Are you ready?"

She finished zipping the bag and glanced around the room again, her eyes landing on her closet. Whatever had happened here, it had seriously freaked her out. And that was enough for Oliver. He took her bag for her and they walked out of the apartment.

While he waited for her to lock up, he quickly sent a message to Clark. _"Dude, what is going on with Lois? She's not acting like herself. Something's wrong. Get back to me ASAP!"_

He didn't get a reply, so he pocketed his phone and turned to Lois.

"Thanks again Ollie, I don't know how this could've happened. I always lock my door." she said, walking beside him.

She appeared to be a little calmer now, which Oliver was relieved to see. But he made a mental note to talk to Clark as soon as possible. Something had obviously happened at the farm, and if Lois was not willing to talk about it, it must've been bad.

"Come on, let's get you back to my place, I'll call the police, then we'll figure out what to do in the morning. It's late, you need to rest." 


	8. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

"Clark? You okay?" Lois' voice drifted to him, barely penetrating the haze surrounding him. He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus, and when they did, he saw Lois frowning at him.

Glancing around them, Clark had no idea how they'd gotten to this point, and he couldn't even remember bringing Lois up to his room. This woman, lying beneath him on his bed, held some kind of power to make him forget himself, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Thankfully they were both still fully clothed, he noted absently.

"I don't think this is a good idea right now Lois." he said, raising himself up onto his arms.

"And why not? I think it's a great idea Clark." she replied, pulling him back down on top of her. But he held himself up and then sat back on his knees.

"Lois, please…" It was so hard to think with her lying there, looking so…delicious. But this wasn't right. There was something very wrong with this situation.

She rolled her eyes and sat up. "Clark, what's the big deal here? I think you're hot, you think I'm hot, so let's just…"

"Lois!"

"What? I don't understand why you're going cold all of a sudden. Anyone would think you've never even done this before." She chuckled but then fell serious. "You have, haven't you?"

He threw her an impatient look. "I'm not even going to answer that."

"Then what is this really about? Please, tell me, because I am seriously confused here. You have a woman who is ready, willing and raring to go right before you, and you're not going to do anything about it. What is up with that?" Then she gasped. "You _can_ do it can't you?"

"This, this right here is what's up!" he replied, shoving an irritated hand through his hair. "You're acting so…strange!"

Almost immediately, she became defensive. "Strange? Let me tell you something buddy, I'm not the one acting strange here. I know you want me, I can see the evidence…" He felt his cheeks heat as her eyes drifted down to his crotch. He tentatively covered himself with his hands, feeling exposed even through the layer of his jeans. "Yet you're saying you don't."

"I never _said_ that Lois, you're assuming."

That seemed to shut her up for a second, so that Clark could get off the bed and get his bearings. Things were not working out as he had planned. Or hadn't planned. This wasn't supposed to have happened, not this soon anyway. Of course he wanted Lois, she was crazy to think otherwise but he didn't think this was the right situation.

"I just think we should slow down that's all. Talk about things, you know?"

She huffed out a sigh and got off the bed, gathering her boots and putting them back on. When she was done, she walked over to the mirror, ran her hands through her dishevelled hair and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Clark asked, following her down the stairs.

She spun around to face him just as she reached the back door, making him take a quick step backwards. "Away from you. Honestly Clark, sometimes you really bug me! Just for once, can't you take a leap rather than thinking _everything_ through? Or are you simply too scared of what will happen if you let yourself go?"

She was hitting the mark closer than she could possibly know, and closer than Clark would've liked. But she had a point. At the moment, however, he was so confused he didn't know what to think.

She opened the back door and walked out, pausing to leave him with one last parting shot before she left. "One of these days Clark, you're going to have to learn the true meaning of fun."

He shook his head as he stood in the doorway, feeling as if his world just got turned upside down. Though he shouldn't have been surprised, this was Lois after all, she was like a whirlwind that came in and upturned everything you knew.

Closing the door, he sat down at the kitchen counter, wondering what his next move should be. Lois was acting so…weird. He just didn't know why. He frowned as he noticed the little light blinking on his cell phone, he hadn't even heard it go off.

Well, he had been distracted at the time, he supposed. Suppressing an overwhelming urge to chase after Lois, Clark flipped open his phone and read the message from Oliver.

~~~~~~

Early the next morning, Oliver turned up at the farm with an expression that seemed eerily similar to Clark's. Bewilderment. Clark put down his tools and walked out of the barn to greet him, wiping his hands on a cloth. He'd been hoping that working on his dad's old green tractor would help distract him, as it had always done in the past.

But no, it hadn't worked and he was left feeling even more puzzled the more he thought about Lois' behaviour. He'd barely slept last night, his phone had been clutched in his hand for most of it, but he couldn't bring himself to call her.

"Oliver, what's going on?"

Oliver shook his head, shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and leaned back against his car. "I was hoping you could enlighten me actually. I saw Lois last night, she was…different."

"Tell me about it." Clark muttered, visions of Lois lying beneath him still fresh in his mind, taunting him, teasing him. "I just don't know what's gotten into her."

"Well I can safely say that I've never seen this side of Lois before." Oliver said, his frown deepening. "Did something happen to her, or could this be a part of her head injury?"

"I don't know, but that's what I'm worried about. We uh…kissed yesterday and she doesn't even remember it."

Oliver held up his hand. "Hold up, you guys kissed? Seriously?"

"You don't have to sound so shocked." Clark deadpanned. "And can we stay focused here?"

Oliver smirked at him. "Actually, I was going to say it's about damn time. You two have been circling each other for months. It's actually a relief to hear it."

Ignoring his comments, Clark threw a warning note into his tone. "Oliver."

"Right, right okay. Well what do you think it is?"

"I have no idea." Clark replied thoughtfully. His mind was racing to come up with answers. Lois was acting…bolder. A lot bolder, he thought. She only seemed to be looking out for herself, wanting to have fun all the time, not really caring if she hurt his feelings. She actually sounded a lot like him when he was on red kryptonite. But it couldn't be that, for a start, red k didn't affect humans. Did it?

"Care to share big guy? I can see the cogs turning in there." Oliver said, waiting for Clark to say something.

"It's just a thought…but I don't think it's…"

"What?"

The more Clark thought about Lois' behaviour over the past day or so, the more it seemed to point to it. "I think it could be red kryptonite."

Oliver's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Really? I thought that stuff only got to you. Unleashed your inner party boy, or whatever you wanna call it."

"I thought so too, but the similarities are too much to ignore and this only started happening since she hit her head. It could just be the head injury, but I think there's more to it than that." He deliberately kept out the part where Lois had tried to seduce him, because he was still working through that himself. Plus it wasn't something he wanted Oliver to hear anyway.

"Okay, so would that account for the…" he paused to find the right word. "Let's just say the emotional side of things?" Oliver asked, folding his arms.

Clark scoffed. "Oh I'd say so. But I can't figure out how it would affect Lois. It might not even be that."

"Intervention time?" Oliver asked, the expression on his face telling Clark he would enjoy that about as much as having his teeth ripped out.

Clark knew how he felt. "I think so."

Lois sighed as she sank down onto her sofa later that afternoon. Things with Clark hadn't exactly gone as planned and she was seriously unhappy about that. Her impostor must've made quite an impression on him, she though angrily.

The mere thought of that floozy's lips on Clark's made her blood boil. Just who did she think she was anyway? It was bad enough she was pretending to be her, let alone making moves on Clark. She had to get rid of her. But how? As much as she hated to admit it, and she did, she really needed help on this one. But _she_ had already gotten to the one person Lois would go to for help.

Maybe Chloe. She was family, she'd know the difference surely. Of course the pressing question right now was, where was she? She grabbed the phone from her desk, resisting the urge to grumble about her cell phone being stolen too, and brought up Chloe's number, but before she could hit send, there was a knock on her door, so she hung up and went to answer it.

Seeing Clark on the other side was the last thing she expected. He moved aside a little to reveal…Oliver? What was he doing here?

"Can I help you?" she asked icily, jutting a hip out as she leant against the door.

Clark's eyebrows flickered in surprise. "Lois it's me, Clark."

"What?" She almost burst out laughing at the ridiculously puzzled look on his face. "I am aware of who you are Smallville."

"Oh…" he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I thought…never mind. Can we come in?"

"That depends on what you want." she replied, her humour fading at the memory of being cast aside by him earlier.

"We just want to talk to you."

"Both of you? Why?"

Oliver sighed impatiently and moved inside. "It's important Lois, trust us."

Lois glared at the pair of them as they walked past her and inside. "Come on in, make yourselves comfortable why don't you."

While Oliver leaned against the wall opposite her, Clark stood in front of her, looking a little lost. He seemed to be studying her, though she had no idea why he would.

"I take it Oliver's here so I don't do anything you wouldn't appreciate?" she asked, her tone practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Lois!" Clark hissed, and she could swear that his face turned a little red as he glanced sideways at Oliver.

"Ugh, fine! Just get whatever you came here to say over with."

"How are you feeling today?" Oliver asked, watching her with the same expression that Clark was.

"I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm not an invalid, I've taken knocks to the noggin before, why should this time be any different?"

"Because Lois," Oliver moved away from the wall and walked over to her. As he stood next to Clark, Lois couldn't help but think that this was some sort of mission they'd cooked up. "You haven't exactly been yourself lately. And we think that the concussion might be taking more of a toll on you than you think."

She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers to her temples. "Okay, look. I am fine. I do _not_ need babysitters. I do _not_ need your concern, I can take care of myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things I need to go and do."

Clark stepped forward as she did, bringing himself within close range. So close that she would only have to lean forward a little bit and they would be kissing. "Lois please, I'm worried about you. Have you uh…have you come into contact with anything in the past couple of days? Anything red?"

"What kind of question is that? I've seen a lot of red things. I'm wearing a red bra right now, does that count?"

She had a moment of pure satisfaction as Clark's eyes drifted down to her cleavage and then quickly snapped back up to her face again. "This is important Lois. I'm talking about meteor rock. Red meteor rock. Have you seen any lately?"

"Red meteor rock? And you say I'm the one acting strange. But no, I haven't seen any. I thought the only meteor rock around was green."

"There's red too, trust us. And what it does isn't pretty." Oliver piped up. "But if she hasn't seen any, or touched any, that kinda blows your theory out of the water doesn't it Clark?"

Clark shot him a 'you're not helping' glare and turned back to Lois, who was growing more and more impatient by the second.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?"

Clark looked at Oliver, who shrugged, then said. "It's just that…well, we've noticed certain changes in your personality, ever since you bumped your head."

"And what? Now you think I'm losing my marbles?"

"No, but I'm concerned that something is wrong."

"How am I acting any different than I normally do?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips in a challenge to both of them.

"Well, for one thing, calling me up late at night, freaking out about someone breaking into your apartment isn't exactly you." Oliver said. "You were almost hysterical when I got here."

Both Clark and Lois blinked at him.

"What?" They both said at the same time.

As if he were suddenly under attack, Oliver backed up, looking a little scared at the look on Lois' face. "You know, last night? You called me because you thought someone had been in here."

"I never called you, I think I would remember doing…oh no!"

"What is it?" Clark asked softly, cupping her elbow.

"It was her." she whispered angrily.

"Her who? Lois you're not making any sense." Clark said, his confusion reaching an all time high.

"My impostor!" she yelled. "There is someone running around, playing you guys. Oh and the kicker? She looks identical to me!"

Clark looked at Oliver, who shrugged helplessly. He was as clueless as Clark, but he also looked just as concerned.

"Why would you think there's an impostor?" Oliver asked patiently, but his tone only seemed to irritate her further.

"I don't think, I know! What exactly did 'I' do last night after I called you?"

"I took you back to my place to stay the night."

"You did?" Clark asked, and Oliver shook his head at him.

"Not the time Clark. Yes, you came back to my place."

"But she was with me…last night…" Clark said, trailing off at the end as if he realised he'd just revealed too much.

"Oh really?" Oliver grinned. "Ow! What was that for?" He rubbed the back of his head where Lois had just smacked him.

"Oliver, what the hell happened last night? What did she do?" Lois was almost shrieking now, and Clark was so confused he felt like his head was going to explode.

"Nothing, she…you just talked to Chloe for a bit and then fell asleep on the couch."

"Chloe? She got to her too? Oh this is just perfect!" Lois threw her hands up in frustration. "Okay, I want you two to listen to me very carefully. Because right now, someone who looks and acts like me, is sitting in your apartment, and we don't know what her motivations are. She could be dangerous. She already got to Clark yesterday."

"What?" Clark's eyes widened. Of course, it made so much sense now. The Lois he'd been with yesterday was an entirely different person to the one he'd spent last night with. And she'd kissed him. Oh man, this was such a mess. "Okay, so if there's two of you…"

Lois' eyes flashed angrily at him. "There is not _two_ of me Smallville. There's only one Lois Lane. _She_ is an impostor."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Oliver asked, looking at Clark. "We both spent last night with a Lois. She can't have been in two places at the same time."

"Finally!" Lois said. "Boy I know you're a blonde Ollie, but that penny sure did have a long way to drop didn't it?"

"Hey!"

Starting to get frustrated now, Clark stepped in. "Guys, this isn't getting us anywhere. Lois, how do you know she's dangerous?" She didn't seem dangerous yesterday, he thought, but kept that little bit to himself. Lois was already volatile enough right now.

"How do you know she isn't?" she shot back. "She's going around everyone I care about, coming into my apartment, taking my stuff. Whoever she is, she wants my life. And I'll be damned if I'm going to roll over and let her have it!"

Lois stormed towards the door and grabbed her keys. "Come on."

"Wait, where are you going?" Clark asked.

"_We_ are going to Oliver's apartment, to sort this out once and for all."

_To Be Continued..._


	9. Chapter 8

_**Chapter Eight**_

"Lois are you okay?" Chloe asked, watching as Lois sat on the sofa in Oliver's apartment. She seemed upset about something, but when she'd asked last night, Lois had just told her she was tired and wanted to go to sleep.

So she'd left it alone, but this morning she'd been acting…strange. Something was definitely bugging her cousin and Chloe couldn't stand to see her so obviously upset.

Lois looked up at her, her expression one of surprise, as if she hadn't even heard Chloe come into the room. "Oh, I'm fine Chloe. I'm just…thinking."

"About?"

"Nothing…everything." Then she sighed. "I just don't know how I get myself into these messes."

Chloe sat down next to her. "What mess would that be?"

Lois glanced to her left to look at Chloe, then down to her lap again, where her hands were clenched tightly together. "It's not important. Hey can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"When you uh…back when you had a…thing for Clark, did you ever kiss him?"

Chloe's mouth tilted into a half smile, remembering that time. Boy she'd really laid one on him. "Uh, once yes. It was the end of the world, you know? I didn't know if I was ever going to see him again."

"What happened?"

"Well it was Dark Friday. Clark was going to…do something and I didn't know whether we'd ever see each other again, so I took a chance. I couldn't let him go without kissing him at least once." She laughed. "I gotta say, I've never seen him look quite so shocked."

"Did he kiss you back?"

Chloe frowned, noticing how interested Lois was in this particular subject. "Yes, but I don't think there was anything in it. And besides, it was a long time ago. Why are you asking anyway? I thought I already told you this years ago."

"No reason." she replied. Then she stood and crossed over to the table to collect her bag. "I think I'd better get going, see if anything else is missing in my apartment. I want to call the police, Oliver was supposed to do it with me but he vanished earlier and I haven't seen him since."

"Oh he went to see Clark about something."

Lois' head shot up. "He what? What uh…what did he want to see Clark for?"

Chloe shrugged. "No idea, he said it was urgent and then left without telling me. Lois why don't you stay until he gets back, then you can call the police together?"

Lois smiled at her cousin, grateful for her time and support, but she needed to get some air. "No, thanks Chloe but I want to get this sorted. I can't spend another night in my apartment being scared."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. But thank you. I'll call you later." Lois kissed Chloe on the forehead and headed towards the door, but before she got to it, it burst open revealing Clark, Oliver and…_Lois_?

Stunned silence took over the room as the five of them stood staring at the two women who were identical and you could literally hear a pin drop. Clark's eyes were almost popping out of his head, his jaw almost hitting the floor, Oliver just looked completely puzzled, and Chloe…well she had no idea what was even going on.

"Um…am I hallucinating?" Chloe asked, her eyes darting back and forth.

"If you are then make that two of us." Oliver said numbly, staring at the two women.

"No, you're not." Lois…the newly arrived Lois, growled. And then before anyone could even move, she lunged towards the other girl, punched her and grabbed her roughly by the hair.

"OW! Let go of me, are you crazy!"

"Oh I'm not the one trying to take someone's life here honey." she said, pulling her over to the sofa the throwing her onto it. "Don't even think about moving."

"What the…?" Chloe's voice distracted her for a moment and she turned to face all three of them.

"Believe me now Smallville? I told you I wasn't lying and this isn't some side effect of my concussion. She is very real, and possibly very dangerous. The question is, what are we going to do about her?"

Well this was definitely a lot more like the Lois she knew, Chloe thought. She frowned as she looked at the woman on the sofa. She was the exact replica of Lois, but Chloe had to admit that she was…different. And it wouldn't be the first time that something like this had happened.

"Please, I have no idea what you're even talking about." Lois said, wincing as she held a hand to her head. "I'm as shocked as you are. Who are you?"

"Don't you dare play that card! I'm the real Lois Lane. I don't know who you are, or how you got my looks, but it ends here and now."

The woman on the sofa sniffled. "I really don't have a clue what you're…"

"Oh really?" She crouched down in front of her so that they were face to face. It was eerie being able to look at your own face without the aid of a mirror. "Then what exactly is your explanation because I'm just dying to hear how you somehow manage to look_ exactly_ like me. I don't recall having a twin so your story better be a good one. Who are you?"

The woman frowned at her, tears now appearing in her eyes. "I'm Lois Lane."

"Wrong answer. Try again. Who. Are. You?"

"Lois, come on…" Clark said softly behind her, grabbing her arm to pull her up. She yanked it away from his grasp, keeping her eyes on the woman in front of her.

All Clark knew was that whoever this woman was, she was clearly not a threat. Well, not at the moment anyway. Something in the way she looked up at him was getting to him, striking something deep down. Did he know this woman? Was she able to change the way she looked? Like Tina Greer? If so, what would she have to gain by impersonating Lois? It didn't make any sense.

Lois clicked her fingers in front of his face, snapping him back to attention. "Smallville! We have to do something here. I will not let her have my life!"

"Lois, I think you're being a little over the top on this one. She doesn't look dangerous."

Lois stared at him like he'd lost his marbles. "I can't believe I just heard that. How would you like it if you had someone worming their way into the lives of everyone you love? Huh? I can't let her get away with it!"

"We don't even know what's going on right now, this could have a reasonable explanation."

"Yeah I don't know about that Clark. I mean look at them…" Oliver interjected. "They're identical. Something weird is going on here."

Lois nodded. "See? Thank you! I will not allow her to have my body or my life!" she yelled.

"And I'm not going to let you hurt her! She's a person Lois, dangerous or not, she's a human being." Clark yelled back, surprised himself at the strength of his own conviction.

With one very angry Lois glaring at him, Clark reached down and helped the other one up off the sofa. She leaned against him, her body sagging in relief, as if she knew he would help her. Was that a plan? Or was she really just afraid? His head was still spinning from the fact that he was currently standing in the company of two Lois Lanes and it was taking a little time to catch up.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm taking her out of here. Whether she is who she says she is or not, I don't want you pummelling her. When you've calmed down, you can come to the farm and talk about this, until then…she's staying with me."

They walked to the door, but the sound of shattering glass halted them. Clark turned around, frowning down at the broken vase at his feet.

"Did you seriously just throw a vase at me?"

In unison, both Chloe and Oliver took a step back away from the growing tension. Clark looked shocked and a little annoyed, the Lois next to him looked like a scared puppy and the other Lois…well, if looks could kill, Clark would be toast right now.

"You're not taking her anywhere Clark."

"Well I'm not leaving her here with you."

Without another word, Clark turned and guided the impostor to the door. Lois was fuming. How could he do this to her? Talk about betrayal. She turned on Chloe and Oliver, noting that they looked like a tornado had just blown through their living room.

"How could you just stand there and let him walk out with her?" she yelled at Oliver.

"Whoa, okay first, Clark's a big boy and can make his own decisions. Second, maybe if you hadn't gone all Xena on her, he wouldn't have. Geez Lois you gotta calm down a little."

Chloe stepped forward. "Ollie's right Lois, you have to think logically about this. Why exactly would this woman be impersonating you?"

Lois threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know! I have no idea what she can gain from all this. If she were impersonating me, why am I still here? Wouldn't she want to get rid of me?"

"Maybe," Chloe replied, thinking it over. "But maybe she isn't after your life Lois. Maybe this was an accident or something, I mean weird things happen in Smallville."

Lois gave her a sceptical glare. "So then why is she saying her name is Lois?"

"I…don't know actually. But we'll figure it out." Chloe shook her head. "I thought something was off with her this morning. She seemed too…"

Lois wasn't sure she liked the way Chloe trailed off. "Too what?"

Chloe grimaced. "Nice? I don't know she just didn't seem like herself."

Lois groaned. "That's because she isn't!"

"Right, got it. But now that Clark's taken her with him, what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know. I need your help guys. We can't let her do this. I like my life and I want it just as it is…_mine!_"

Oliver stepped forward and put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll help you Lois. Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

~~~~~~~

A little later, Clark walked into the kitchen of the farmhouse, with _Lois_ following closely behind him. She'd been silent the entire drive home and he hadn't known what to say to her either.

For a start, she was a complete stranger, so he had no idea what to do now. He was well aware that he'd angered the real Lois further by bringing her here with him. But she'd just looked so scared and vulnerable, much like she was looking now as she stood in the doorway, and he hadn't been able to let her suffer like that.

He didn't know if it was because she looked like Lois, or something else, but something in her eyes had drawn him to her, and he'd felt the strongest urge to protect her.

"So…now that we're here, how about you tell me your name." Clark said, leaning his hands on the counter. She didn't answer him right away. "I promise you're safe here. Please, tell me who you are."

"I already told you, it's me Clark. I _am_ Lois." she replied, with a look of mild panic.

Clark sighed and moved around the counter to face her full on. "Look, I want to help you okay? But you have to be honest with me here. Lois can be a little…dramatic at times but you have to understand that this has thrown us all for a loop. We need to figure out how this happened to you. But first, I would like to be able to call you something."

Lois felt the tears prickle at his gentle tone, but she knew that it didn't mean anything. He was as suspicious of her as the others. How could they even think she wasn't…herself? Knowing there was no way around this, she sighed. "I guess for now, you could call me…Joanne."

Clark frowned. "That's Lois' middle name."

"I know. It's also _my_ middle name since I _am_ Lois!"

"Okay, fine I'll call you Joanne. For now." He shook his head as he looked her over. Everything was the same, right down to the very tiny scar she had on her forehead from when she had chicken pox as a young girl. "So can you tell me anything that might be able to help? Do you remember how this happened?"

She sighed and sat down at the kitchen table, waiting for Clark to sit before she spoke. Pressing her fingers to her temple to ease the pain that was growing there, she frowned. "I was…we…um…" Oh God, why couldn't she remember? It was there, she knew it was, but it was like the thought wouldn't form in her head. "I…don't know Clark."

Clark grew concerned with the way she was acting, she'd gone pale and her eyes were squinted, as if it hurt to even open them. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. Clark…I can't remember…"

She was starting to panic. This wasn't a woman who was dangerous, he thought. And for reasons he didn't quite understand, he had to help her. He knew that this was probably a trick, that she was probably pretending not to remember because she simply didn't have the memories.

But he felt strongly that he needed to make sure she was okay. He rested a hand over hers. "It's okay, you don't have to right now. We'll figure this out, I promise."

As she looked up at him, he could see the pain in her eyes, and he felt bad for her. "It's okay Joanne."

She winced a little at the name, but said nothing. She just smiled lightly and squeezed his hand back.

_To Be Continued..._


	10. Chapter 9

_**Chapter Nine**_

"Clark?"

Clark looked up from his task of repairing his dad's old tractor, something he always did when he needed to think. He knew it would probably never work again, but he couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. The old green thing had sentimental value.

He smiled at Joanne as she entered the barn but as she came closer, he frowned. She didn't look at all well and he wondered if he should take her to the hospital. But she wouldn't allow that for some reason and he had to wonder what she was hiding.

He still hadn't quite made up his mind about her, except to say that she was nothing at all like the dangerous person Lois had painted her out to be. He winced as he thought about Lois, the angry text she'd sent him last night was a pretty good indication that she was probably unlikely to ever forgive him. Let alone kiss him again.

And it surprised him just how much that thought bothered him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"A little better."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Not much." she sighed and leaned her back against the tractor, facing away from him. "I'm worried Clark. I spent all night thinking about things and it scares me that I can't remember anything. Why can't I remember?"

"I don't know." he replied quietly, hating himself for thinking thoughts of her deceiving him. But what reason could she possibly have for lying and pretending to be Lois? None of this made any sense. But he also had to remember that this woman was a virtual stranger to him. How much could he really trust her?

"Listen Joanne…maybe…" He kept his voice as gentle as possible as he rounded the tractor and stopped in front of her. "Maybe you should just tell me your real name. We can work this out if you'd just be honest with me."

A flash of hurt crossed her face, making him feel guilty but she squared her shoulders and looked him right in the eye. "My real name is Lois Joanne Lane. I really don't know how else to convince you that I'm me!"

"Tell me what happened to you. Tell me anything because right now, I don't know how to help you."

"I don't know what happened Clark! I can't remember." She grabbed her head and winced, making him reach out to hold her arm.

"Look, why don't we go inside, you don't look well."

She looked up at him, her eyes sparkling despite the obvious pain she was in. He had no idea what was happening to him, whether it was because it was, for all intents and purposes, Lois he was looking at, or that she seemed so vulnerable. But he felt a connection to her, and it only seemed to be getting stronger.

"No, no I'm fine. I want to get this sorted Clark, but I just have no idea how to."

"Tell you what, why don't we go down to Crater Lake, since that was where I apparently found you? See if anything there jogs your memory."

"Okay, I guess that would be…fine." Her tone was coloured with disappointment, leading him to wonder if she was going to give up the game she was playing and admit that truth.

"Come on, we can take my truck."

~~~~~~

"Okay, what exactly am I looking for here?" Chloe asked, sipping her coffee in the hopes it would clear her head. Lois had woken her up a lot earlier than she was used to being up, and then made her go to the Daily Planet.

Lois hovered near her desk, which Chloe was currently seated at. "Your old files and stuff from Smallville High. You said this had happened before, I want to know when."

"You didn't have to drag me down here at this time of morning for that Lois. I could've told you everything over breakfast."

Lois sighed, then grabbed something out of her purse and tossed it on the desk. "There's your breakfast, now talk."

Chloe glanced down at the half eaten bag of chips and grimaced. "Uh Lois? That's not…"

"Chloe!"

"Okay! Geez what is it with you? I get that you want to get this fixed but you're acting like it's the end of the world."

"It is! Or could be. The end of my world if we don't stop her."

"I'm not entirely sure she's all that dangerous Lois. I mean if Clark…"

"Hadn't betrayed me by taking her home with him, we wouldn't be in this mess. I could've beaten the truth out of her." Lois was clearly still fuming at Clark, which made Chloe glad that she wasn't in his shoes right now. Having the wrath of Lois bear down on you was no picnic, but she seemed almost ten times worse at the moment.

"Yeah cos that always helps." she muttered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Lois asked, glaring down at her.

"Uh, nothing. Look Lois, you should really calm down. I don't think pummelling her would've helped. And you know what Clark's like, he wouldn't let you hurt her. He wouldn't let anyone get hurt if he could stop it."

"Well I'll hurt him when I see him." she grumbled.

"Is that what's really bothering you?" Chloe asked, sensing an opportunity here. "The fact that Clark took her home with him?"

"Well duh!" Lois exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "How can he be so willing to trust a stranger over me? I don't get it. I know we were barely friends before but I thought since we'd…" She stopped and quickly looked away.

"Since you'd what?"

"Nothing, can you please just…"

"No, Lois what did you mean?"

"It's nothing!" Lois said, clearly getting more and more frustrated, but Chloe didn't think it was all due to her mysterious doppelganger.

She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. "Well I'm on strike until you tell me. So you better get started." Then something about Lois' behaviour struck an idea. "Oh my God, did you sleep with him?"

She looked appalled by the idea but there was something…shifty in her eyes. Almost like she'd been caught out. "What? No!"

"Then why can't you just tell me. I am your cousin."

There was a stand-off for a few moments, with both women staring directly at each other, and Chloe was almost about to cave when Lois growled.

"Fine. We kissed. You happy now?"

"Immensely." Chloe replied, grinning. "But the question is, why aren't you?"

"Because he kissed her too! He thought it was me but…come on! You can't tell me there isn't something seriously creepy about that."

Lois sighed and sat down on the edge of the desk. "Sounds to me like you might be a little jealous."

Lois smirked at her. "I don't do jealous. And right now I am about an inch away from driving out to the farm and kicking the crap outta this Lois Lane wannabe. Now are you gonna help me, or not?"

Slightly taken aback by her vehemence, Chloe nodded and turned to the computer. "Okay Lois, but I really don't know what we'll be able to find out. Tina Greer was a rare case. She had a bone disorder that was affected by the meteor rocks. She could change her appearance at will."

"Well then how do we know that this isn't her?"

"Well I'm guessing that would be…impossible, since she died and all."

"Oh, yeah probably." Lois replied. She was starting to wonder if they'd ever figure this out.

Chloe reached over and took one of her hands, giving it a gentle, comforting squeeze. "We will figure this out Lois, I promise."

"I hope so, because if we don't, I swear…no matter what Clark says or does, I will find my own way of getting the truth out of her."

Chloe shuddered at that thought and turned back to the computer.

~~~~~~

Clark sighed heavily as he walked into the farmhouse behind Joanne a little later that afternoon. Their visit to the lake had yielded zero results and they'd spent quite a bit of time there. But Joanne just hadn't been able to remember anything. He was starting to wonder if she really was faking the whole memory loss thing in order to avoid having to tell him the truth.

She sat down on the sofa and put her head in her hands and Clark felt bad for thinking that, but there didn't seem to be a whole lot of other explanations. He sat down next to her and was stunned to see tears in her eyes when she put her hands down.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"This whole mess. I'm sorry Clark, I don't mean to be a burden."

She avoided all eye contact with him, looking down at her hands, so he took one and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You're not a burden. I want to help you, I really do."

"You're not just saying that?" she sniffled.

"No." She still wouldn't look at him, so he hooked a finger beneath her chin and turned her head towards him. "Hey, I want to help you."

"I'm scared Clark. Why can't I remember anything? I remember your name, my name, where you live, where _I _live. So why can't I remember anything from my past?"

Looking into her eyes, the same colour and shape as the woman he'd come to care about, Clark felt something. A nagging feeling deep down inside that maybe…just maybe, she could be telling him the truth. Then almost frantically, she grabbed both of his hands.

"Please believe me Clark, I would never lie to you. I am who I say I am."

He wished that he could know for sure, but something told him he could believe her.

"It's okay Joanne, you're gonna be fine. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Promise?" she asked, with such hope in her eyes that it made his heart ache a little.

But before he could answer, his cell phone started ringing. He fished it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Seeing that it was Oliver, and this would probably be a conversation that he should have out of Joanne's earshot, he excused himself and went into the kitchen.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Clark, how's it going? Has she 'fessed up yet?"

"No and I'm starting to believe that she isn't who we think she is." he replied, watching Joanne as she wiped the tears off her face. She looked so fragile right then that he just wanted to hold her.

"There is one way we can know for sure."

"And that would be?"

"I have a friend who's a doctor, he could run some tests, see if she's telling the truth."

Clark's expression darkened. "You mean stick her with lots of needles and subject her to endless tests to see how she can change her form to look like Lois?"

Clark could practically hear the grin in Oliver's voice. "Now you're getting it. Bring her to my apartment, we can…"

"No."

"I'm sorry what?"

"I said no."

"Uh, Clark? This kinda needs to be done. We can't have two Lois Lanes running around, especially when one of them is out for the other one's blood."

Clark frowned. "I don't care. I won't let you treat her like some sort of lab rat." She deserved better than that. "It's not happening Oliver, I won't allow it."

"Oh you won't allow it? Well I'll let you be the one to break that news to our intrepid reporter because once she hears about this, it won't just be Joanne's blood she'll be after. You may be bullet proof Clark but you might wanna watch you back with Lois."

Still watching Joanne, Clark knew he was doing the right thing. "I don't care, it's not gonna happen. She's a human being Oliver, not a test subject. We'll find another way."

"Okay man, have it your way. Just don't blame me when Lois finds a way to kick your ass without the aid of green kryptonite."

Clark shuddered at the thought of Lois finding out about this, but after hanging up and walking back into the living room, Joanne looked at him like he was the only bright thing in her world, like she was depending on him, and it made him feel…like he could trust her. He had to at least protect her, until this was all figured out.

_To Be Continued..._


	11. Chapter 10

**_Chapter Ten_**

Clark walked in the house later that evening to find Joanne at the kitchen sink, washing the last of the dishes they'd had for dinner.

"You didn't have to do that." he said, shrugging out of his jacket.

She shrugged one shoulder. "I wanted to. I needed to do something, all this waiting is…unpleasant."

"I guess it is."

"Did you finish your chores?" she asked and he nodded, leaving out the part that he'd spent most of the last hour in the barn thinking. He'd done the last of his chores in about five minutes.

As he went to the fridge to get some orange juice, Joanne turned around to face him. "Clark, what were you talking to Oliver about earlier? And please don't tell me it was nothing, you had a face like thunder when you came back in."

"He just wanted to talk…about you."

"What did he say?"

Clark stared at her for a moment, weighing up whether or not he should tell her the truth, but then, it was the least she deserved, he supposed. He sighed and sat down at the counter in the middle of the kitchen. "He said that he has this friend who's a doctor…"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, he wanted to uh…to run some…tests on you. To find out who you really are."

Her face fell, and Clark felt it like a kick to the gut. He couldn't stand seeing her upset or hurt. But she quickly hid it behind a smile.

"I see. What kind of tests?"

"I don't know really. Just ones that might help us figure out if you're telling the truth or not."

"So you think I'm still lying to you?" She held up a hand before he could answer. "It's okay Clark. I get it. I don't expect you to believe me. I wouldn't if it were me."

"It's not that Joanne, it's just…"

"Like I said, it's okay. I don't blame you at all. But I think that…if a DNA test is the only way to get you to believe me, then I think that maybe it's a good idea."

"Really? You'd be willing to do that?" he asked, mildly surprised that she would be open to it. If she were lying to them, wouldn't she want to avoid that at all costs? A DNA test wasn't something that she could fake her way out of.

"If it's the only way. Then yes, I'd be willing to do that. But I'm curious," She walked over to Clark and sat down next to him. "Why didn't you tell him yes? I'm sure you're eager to find out who I am too."

"Sure but…I just didn't think it would be fair to put you through that."

She smiled warmly and covered his hand with her own. He wasn't used to 'Lois' being so…soft. That was probably the wrong word but Lois was always more…talkative and she often told it like it was. Wait, why was he comparing her to Lois? They were two different people…weren't they?

"I love that you want to look out for me Clark, but this is the only way. I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to give me an honest answer okay?"

He nodded. "Has it ever crossed anyone's mind that maybe Lois isn't really Lois? Maybe she isn't who she says she is."

Clark narrowed his eyes, his suspicions picking up a little. "No, because she's…well she's Lois. I just know it."

"But how?"

"I just do, that's all. She isn't acting any differently. Apart from being a little more…aggressive but that's Lois. She's fiercely protective of the people she cares about."

"Okay, I get it. So…can I ask, why are you helping me? If you're so sure I'm someone else."

"Because…" He paused as he looked into her eyes. "Because I don't think you're dangerous, I don't think you have an agenda. And I want to help you."

She drew in a deep breath as she nodded and went back to doing the dishes. "You should call Oliver, arrange those tests. I want to prove I am who I say I am."

Clark watched her for a moment, her shoulders seemed set and her back was straight as if she were literally holding herself together. She was upset. He felt bad that he might've caused it so he stood up, placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"Don't worry about me Clark, I'm totally fine. Really…" Once again she was avoiding any eye contact with him. But he let her continue. "I mean, Lois obviously means a lot to you, I just wish you could see how much I care about…I mean um, I wish you could see that I'm telling you the truth and that I would never want to hurt you or cause you any pain. I know this has to be confusing for you but believe me it's a lot more confusing for me and I…"

The sheer nervousness and pain in her words, the way she was rambling, had a strange effect on him, he felt like he was being pulled towards her, slowly, until their lips touched softly. Instead of pulling away, she responded, and as he deepened the kiss, he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her in closer to him.

Somewhere deep in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be doing this. That he liked Lois and no one else. But this woman, she was so much like Lois. What if she was telling the truth? Was it possible?

Lost in a haze of confusion and excitement, Joanne reluctantly pulled away, breaking their kiss. For a moment he looked surprised, but she knew it was for the best. He thought she was a stranger, and until the test proved she wasn't, she couldn't do this. It wasn't right.

"I'm sorry, that shouldn't have happened." he said, looking down at the ground. She took a step back to clear her head. She couldn't think when she was so close to him.

"It's okay Clark. I understand."

She went to move past him, but something made him reach out and stop her. Looking into her eyes, Clark felt something…a connection of sorts.

"Clark? You okay?" she asked, when he didn't speak for a few minutes.

He blinked back to attention and let go of her arm. "Yeah I uh…I'm sorry."

She nodded and moved past him, heading over to the stairs. "It's getting late. I should go to bed."

Pursing his lips, Clark nodded but didn't say anything. He smiled in response to hers, then watched as she walked up the stairs. What was going on inside his head?

Suddenly in need of some fresh air to clear his head, Clark grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. Before he realised it, he was standing at the edge of Crater lake. He wasn't sure what had brought him out here but as he glanced off into the distance, a figure walking into the woods, caught his attention. By the light of the moon, he was able to make out a long, dark brown ponytail swishing behind her. So he ran over to her.

"Lois?"

She turned around at his voice, and her face was one of anger. Not exactly a welcoming sight, he thought.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be babysitting Miss Amnesia?"

"Lois…"

"Where is she?" she asked, arms folded, body language screaming at him not to mess with her right now.

"I assume you're talking about Joanne? She just went to bed."

Lois let out a snort. "So it's Joanne now huh?"

"Lois what are you doing out here this late?" he asked as he closed in on the last few steps and came to stand beside her.

"I needed to get some air. This is really messing with my head. There's a twin of me Clark. Wouldn't that weird you out too?"

She seemed to be on edge, but he didn't know what to say to calm her. "Oliver said he has a friend who can run some tests. To find out if she's telling the truth."

Lois narrowed her eyes at him. "Telling the truth? Wait a minute, you don't actually think she could be…? Clark, I know you're not the sharpest tool in the box sometimes, but how can you just let her fool you like this? I gave you much more credit than that."

Slightly affronted, Clark said. "Lois just relax, it's not like that."

Lois started pacing around in front of him, rubbing her upper arms. "I can't relax, I can't do anything knowing that she's there." She stopped and looked directly at him. "With you."

"What exactly is it that you think she's doing?" Clark asked, getting a little bit irritated. "She needs help Lois. She doesn't need you breathing down her neck."

"You're defending her to me? How dare you?"

Clark let out an impatient sigh. "Look Lois, she has been nothing but scared since the moment I brought her home with me. I know that you're angry with me for that but I don't want to just abandon her when she obviously isn't out to get you."

Lois shook her head, unable to process what she was hearing. Why was he defending her so much? He barely knew her. Then a though occurred to her. "Wait…did you kiss her again?"

"What? No, of course not."

"Uh-huh. Then why can't you look me in the eye right now?"

Clark forced himself to look, though he could feel the heat of her eyes burning into his. "I didn't kiss her." He could tell that she didn't believe him.

"So…she kissed you?"

The expression on her face reminded Clark how angry she could get so he stayed silent, realising too late that that was the worst thing he could've done.

"That's it!" Lois started stomping off in the opposite direction, leaving Clark to follow after her.

"Lois, where are you going?"

"The farm."

Clark grabbed her arm and stopped her, whirling her around to face him. "No, leave her alone Lois. I mean it. Wait a second…are…you jealous?"

Lois' face scrunched up in disgust. "Don't be ridiculous. Me, jealous of her? Doubt it. And don't look so smug farm boy. I just have an issue with people touching my things."

Lois' mouth snapped shut so fast Clark could practically hear her jaw clatter. Both of them stood in a shocked silence for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say to that.

"I'm uh…I'm your thing?" Clark asked, unsure as to what exactly that meant.

Lois shook her head and for a second, Clark loved seeing her get so flustered. But it was quickly replaced with anger again. "Shut up Smallville! The point is that she can't just come in and take over my life like this!"

"That isn't what she's trying to do Lois. She's convinced that she _is_ you."

"Well she isn't." Abruptly, Lois lunged forward and smacked him in the chest.

"Ow, what was that for?" he said, rubbing the spot, it didn't hurt of course, but it was for emphasis.

"That was for kissing her! I thought we came to an understanding."

"You're gonna have to clue me in on that one Lois. What understanding did we come to?"

"You know, you like me, I like you. That one."

"Huh? When did this happen?"

"Hey I'm the one with the head injury, you can't conveniently forget your way outta this one."

Clark shook his head, confused even more so now than he had been all day. And that was saying a lot.

"Smallville, we kissed. We almost more than kissed." She sounded so frustrated. "If you hadn't been such a whiner we would've done more."

"Gee Lois you make it sound so romantic." he deadpanned, which earned him a glare.

"You know what I mean. You have feelings for me and you won't even admit it."

"Oh like you have?" he countered.

She blinked. "I did. We've been circling each other for months now, were you ever going to make a move?"

She had him there, he had to admit. He did have feelings for her, strong ones. But he'd always been too afraid to act on them before.

"I wanted to…but…"

"But, there's always a 'but' with you." She stepped a little closer, bringing herself right up against him. "You want me Clark, I know you do. I can sense it. Just as much as I want you."

Before he could say anything, she leaned up and captured his mouth in a searing kiss that rocked his whole body. He tried to pull back, knowing that doing this so soon after kissing someone else was wrong but he just couldn't. Instead, he found that his arms had somehow worked their way around her body, pressing her into him, as if they had a mind of their own.

Her lips were so soft, just like…Then it him like a brick to the head. Snapping his head back suddenly, he ended the kiss, leaving Lois looking shocked and a little disappointed. But he couldn't help it. An idea was forming in his head and he couldn't ignore it.

They were the same person. Lois and Joanne, they both kissed exactly the same way. Joanne was telling the truth.

"Clark?"

"Huh?"

"What happened?"

He frowned, knowing that he shouldn't share this new information with her just yet. She was not going to believe it. He wasn't even sure that he did yet either.

"Nothing, I'm uh…sorry I just…"

Lois sighed in frustration and started walking back towards the woods. "You know what Smallville, it's fine. You obviously want to keep living in denial so who am I to stop you?"

"It's not that, Lois will you wait for just a second?"

He followed her into the woods, not wanting her to walk in here this late without protection. It was dark and very cold.

"Why? I have things I need to do and you obviously have to be somewhere, so don't let me keep you."

He grabbed her arm again, making her stop. "Lois, what are you doing out here anyway?"

"Investigating! Some of us actually do that when we need to figure out what happened. Not all of us are content to invite a stranger into our home and start macking on them."

The bitterness in her voice was hard to miss, and he didn't know what to say to that so instead, he let go of her and started looking around with her. "I don't know what you hope to find Lois. We already looked."

She didn't appear to be listening to him anymore, and when she crouched down to the ground he realised they were in the same spot as where she fell and hit her head. He kneeled down next to her, frowning as she refused to even look at him.

"Lois…"

"There's nothing here." She sat back on her heels and sighed. "I don't know what I was hoping to find but…"

Her voice trailed off into the background as he stared at the ground. Sticking out of it was a rock, about the size of his fist, with sharp, jagged edges. And it was black. He reached out to touch it, but felt the sting in his fingertips, so he quickly pulled them back. He knew what it was.

And then a million things clicked into place.

"Lois, I think I know what happened to you." he said quietly, still staring at the rock.

He knew what had happened, he just couldn't figure out how. It wasn't supposed to affect humans. But Clark knew, that what he was looking at right now, was black kryptonite.

_To Be Continued..._


	12. Chapter 11

_**Chapter Eleven**_

"What the hell are you babbling about Smallville? How do you know what happened to me?" Lois said, crouching down next to him to examine what he was looking at.

He pointed to the rock. "That."

Lois frowned and tried to pick it up, but it was harder than it appeared to be. Digging around the edges a little, she finally managed to work it free and Clark almost groaned when he saw that it was a pretty sizable chunk. About the size of his palm, and he had big hands.

How on earth had black kryptonite gotten here? The only place he'd ever seen it was in Lex' lab and that was because of an accident with heat. He'd never seen it actually formed on its own. But that didn't change the fact that he was now looking at a chunk of it.

"This thing?" Lois said, perusing it. "It's a rock Clark, how could this have had anything to do with this woman trying to ruin me?"

Clark sighed. "She's not trying to ruin you Lois…look, I think I know what happened but it's just a theory right now. Do you want to hear it or not?"

"Keep your pants on, geez. Here, explain away." Clark reared back when she tried to hand it to him, causing him to fall flat on his backside, making Lois chuckle. "You're not afraid of a little old rock are you Smallville?"

"No, I just don't wanna touch it. It could have anything on it." he said, trying to think fast.

"You're such a girl sometimes. I thought farm boys were supposed to be manly, all that hard labour and what not…" Though her voice trailed off, Clark could see her eyes doing their own assessment of whether or not he really was a man and he felt a wave of heat flare up in his face. Thank goodness it was night time or she would've been teasing him about that too.

But this wasn't the first time she'd been so…brash in making her appreciation of his body known. It was hard to believe that Lois Lane thought he was hot, but apparently, she did. He was so confused. Knowing that he had kissed two different people within the space of two days had not been sitting well with him.

But with this revelation of the black k coming to light, he felt a little better knowing that at least they were both Lois, even if they were as different as night and day. It was a relief to know that the connection he'd felt to Joanne, had been there for a reason. Now, the question was, how did he fix it?

He looked up to see Lois now standing above him turning the rock over in her hands, examining it. He stood up and backed away a little, not wanting to come into any contact with it.

"So are you going to explain your wacky theory of a rock causing all this hassle?" she said, glancing at him.

He nodded. "This is black meteor rock."

"Black? I thought there was only green."

"No, there's green, red, and black."

Lois frowned down at the rock. "Well I know the green causes people to…mutate but what does this stuff do?"

"Mutate?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "Fine, infect people then. Go on."

"The black rock hasn't actually been spotted before, but a few years ago, there was an incident in one of the Luthorcorp labs. Lex was working with green meteor rock, but something went wrong and the rock got heated up and turned into black rock. It uh…it caused something to happen to Lex."

Interested now, Lois lowered the rock and focused fully on Clark. "What happened?"

"He split into two. One side was his good half and the other was…well not so good." He shuddered at the memory.

Lois couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Seriously? Two Lex Luthor's running around? I bet that was fun."

"Not really, no. But I think the same thing has happened to you."

"You think that Joanne is really me?" she asked, her laughter fading and Clark could almost see the change in her eyes. Almost like a storm was brewing. "Wait, you think there's a good and evil side of me?"

"No not at all, it's different with you."

"But we're the same?"

"I think its possible, yes. Come on Lois you have to at least agree that something isn't right with this situation. If she were someone else who really wanted your life, why hasn't she tried to take it? Why is she sitting in my house scared out of her mind? Why is she scared at all for that matter? This is the only explanation."

"Is it? See I don't think so!" Lois yelled.

"Will you just calm down. We can fix this."

Lois stayed quiet for a few minutes, as if she was thinking through what he'd said, and then she looked at him and smiled. It was, of course, a fake smile, but he didn't say anything.

"Okay Clark. So how exactly do you think this rock affected me?"

"I don't know exactly. I think maybe when you hit your head, you must've hit it on this and it somehow split you into two different people."

She narrowed her eyes, clearly disbelieving. "So you're saying that Joanne is…what?"

"She's…I guess she would be one half of your personality and you're the other. You have to admit you've been more than a little…aggressive lately."

"Aggressive huh? That's how you see me? And she's what…little miss perfect?"

Clark didn't know how to answer that, he felt like Lois was about to blow at any second so he had to tread carefully. "No, she's very…I don't think there's a way to end that sentence without you getting mad at me."

Lois surprised him by laughing. "Okay genius, how do you propose to glue us back together? Assuming what you're saying is true?"

Clark shook his head and looked down at the black rock. The only way of getting the two Lex's back together had been to heat green meteor rock to create black. Maybe if he could get the two Lois's in the same room, with the black k, it would somehow work. He had to take a shot because he was out of answers otherwise.

"I don't know just yet."

She patted his shoulder and started walking off. "Well when you figure it out, let me know."

"Wait, where are you going?"

She turned around. "Home. Where else? I still have to try and find a real reason as to why she's here and I obviously can't count on your help."

"Lois that's not fair."

She shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. But I'm sure Joanne needs your help more than I do right now."

Before he could say anything else, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving him wondering whether he should follow or figure out how to get the rock back home. He couldn't touch it, but he couldn't leave it here in case what happened to Lois happened to someone else. He super sped back to his house, grabbed a lead lined box, and headed back to the lake. ****

~~~~~~~

"Clark, its late." Chloe groaned as she opened her front door to him. She was wearing her PJ's and her hair was all ruffled, like she'd been asleep.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you but this is important." he said as he walked into the apartment she shared with Oliver.

"What is it?" she asked seriously, taking a seat next to him on the sofa. She knew that if Clark had come here this late, it was for a very good reason.

"This." He handed her the box and watched her face as she opened it, then frowned and looked back at him. "Yeah, black meteor rock."

"But how…?"

"I don't know how it got there. But this has to be the answer."

"This explains a lot." Chloe nodded. "The way Lois has been acting lately, she's so angry and…the other Lois is so…not. They're like two sides of the same coin."

"That's because they are. We need to figure out how to get them back together."

Chloe put her face in her hands and rubbed at her eyes. "We sound like dating agents. Okay, what's the plan?"

"I don't have one…yet. But I was hoping you would know of a way to get them in the same room. Lois won't listen to me right now, she's angry at me."

"I noticed. Why is that?"

"Because I…" He didn't know if he should tell Chloe or not and he was kind of embarrassed by the whole situation. Finally he sighed. "Because I kissed her."

"Why would that make her angry? Were you bad at it?"

"Chloe! This isn't funny."

Chloe stifled her giggle. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Anyway, she's angry because, yes I kissed her, but I also kissed Joanne."

She slapped his shoulder. "Clark!"

"It wasn't deliberate. There was just…look there was just something about her that I was…drawn to."

"Well that's because you're in love with her."

Clark's jaw dropped. "Say again?"

Chloe chuckled. "Come on Clark, you think I don't see how you look at my cousin when she's not looking at you? You're smitten."

"This isn't helping Chloe." he said, trying to get the focus back on to the reason he came here. "I am not in love with Lois."

"Sure, deny it all you want. Okay, let's think about this. What exactly do you have in mind?"

Joanne couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned and only succeeded in getting frustrated so eventually, she grabbed her robe and headed downstairs. It was dark as she crossed the kitchen, meaning that either Clark was in bed, or was still out. Either way he wasn't here and she wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Part of her was glad that she didn't have to face him right now, but another part felt a little lonely. She felt lost, like he was the only one who could help her remember her past. Why could she remember who he was, but not what had happened to cause this? It just didn't make any sense.

She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and set about making some cocoa, hoping it would help her sleep but a sound from the porch alerted her to someone's presence.

Fear clutched her throat in an icy grip as she saw the handle on the door turn, and she had a split second of wondering why Clark would leave it unlocked before she came face to face with…herself. Well, the other Lois.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hey Joanne." she said, so cheerfully that her blood turned to ice. "I think you and I should talk."

_To Be Continued..._


	13. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve**_

Joanne stood there staring, waiting, hoping that the woman in front of her would just go away. Or that Clark would come home. She felt vulnerable, and the icy glaze in Lois' smiling eyes wasn't helping.

She busied herself by washing a lone cup that was in the sink, but stopped when Lois came closer. "Clark will be home soon, if you want to…"

"I didn't come to see Clark. I came to talk to you."

"What about?"

"You've made yourself quite at home here haven't you?" Lois said, her tone  
disapproving. Joanne ignored it, hoping she wouldn't have to reply but she could feel Lois' eyes on her.

Lois waited until Joanne looked up and met her gaze. "You and I have a situation here. Clark seems to think that we're the same person, and I'm not buying it. What's your angle? I mean what are you hoping to get out of this?"

"Out of what exactly? Lois, I have told you the truth, I am me…I mean you…I mean…" She sighed and shook her head. "What are you talking about? Clark thinks we're the same person?"

Lois slowly walked around the counter and sat down, folding her hands neatly on the surface. "He has a theory, which, personally I think is pretty unbelieveable even for this town."

"What's his theory?" Joanne asked, interested. Maybe Clark was onto something.

Lois gave a dry chuckle. "He thinks that a rock split us into two different people."

"Oh…"

"I know right? But see the thing is, I don't buy it for a second. I know you're up to something, I don't know who you are, or what your game is, but I don't intend to let this charade go on for much longer."

Joanne sighed. "Lois…"

"No save it." Lois said abruptly. "The only words I wanna hear out of your mouth are who you are and what you want."

"I realise you have no reason to trust me Lois, but how do I even know I can trust you? You might be the impostor for all I know. I know I am Lois Lane, the question is…who are you?"

Lois stood and before Joanne could even think to move, she was pinning her against the counter. "Listen to me you wannabe." Her tone sent chills down Joanne's spine. "I know what you're really after. You might think giving Clark my middle name and acting all mousy is going to fool him, but it's not fooling me. He's already been through one mundane co-dependant relationship, what makes you think he could possibly want you?"

Joanne felt the sting from Lois' barb and she cursed herself for the tears that refused to stay hidden. She blinked them back and whispered. "I'm not after Clark."

"Oh really? That's why you've basically wormed your way into his life and his home. You've got him running around in circles trying to find a way to help you. When are you going to get it through your stupid little head, he could never be interested in someone like you."

"I didn't ask for his help."

Lois snorted. "No, but that's the thing. Clark's a good guy, he'd help no matter what the consequences or how much it affected him. I've seen him go through a lot of pain before, I won't let it happen again."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Joanne looked down at the floor. "I didn't realise…"

"No, you wouldn't. But there is one thing you can do to end this…"

"And that would be?"

She looked up at Lois, and her instincts to run kicked up a notch at the lazy smile Lois was suddenly wearing.

"Okay so tell me again how you plan on getting the two Loises in the same room at the same time?" Chloe asked, rubbing her tired eyes. It was far too late in the evening for a conversation like this. But if she knew Lois, and she did, then Clark was in desperate need of help.

Though a secret part of her was laughing because the idea of Clark surrounded by two Lois Lanes was quite comical. One was usually enough to get him flustered, but two…? It was actually quite funny when she stopped to think about it.

Clark was silent as he glanced at the lead box on the table in front of them. The one containing the rock that was responsible for all this mess. She waited, knowing what was coming and trying not to smile as he turned his head towards her.

"I'm not in love with her, you know."

Chloe raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?"

"She's Lois. She's bossy, rude, she's a pain in my…"

"Yet none of those things are what you really think about her, are they?" Chloe said softly.

Clark sighed, exasperated. "No. I mean well, she is bossy…"

"But you kinda like that, be honest."

"She takes charge in situations, that's a good thing." he defended. "But…"

"She lives with her foot in her mouth?"

"But that's just because she's passionate and caring. She doesn't always think before she talks sure, but she cares and that's enough." Clark blinked. "Hey!"

_Oh, finally he caught on_, Chloe thought, chuckling. "What?"

"Don't 'what' me, I know what you're doing."

"I'm not doing anything Clark."

He threw her a suspicious glance. "Sure you're not. Okay fine, I like her. I don't know when it happened but…lately I've been feeling…different."

"I knew we'd get there eventually. Seriously Clark for a super-powered guy from an advanced race, you're really not that sharp when it comes to the opposite sex."

"Gee thanks."

"Do you know how long I've had to put up with the two of you constantly sparring with each other? It's nice to have you finally recognise it."

Chloe saw a brief hint of a smile before he turned serious again. "We need to figure out a game plan. Joanne is at my house, we just need to get Lois there. If I can get them close enough together I can use the black kryptonite to…"

"And how are you going to do that? Your element of surprise is gone now that Lois knows what that rock is."

Clark sat back, leaning his head against the back of the sofa. "We're going to have to figure it out. I'm worried that the longer they're apart, the worse it's going to get. Lois is already aggressive enough. And Joanne…she's, well she's not what I would expect."

"That's because Lois keeps that side very well hidden." Chloe replied, smiling to herself.

"Not that hidden. I've seen glimpses. But we need to do this tonight Chloe, where's Oliver?"

"In bed, where did you think he was?"

Clark shook his head and stood up, "Never mind, just wake him up and tell him we need his help. We have to get Lois to the farm."

"Okay, I'll give her a call and ask her to meet me, then hopefully we can get her out there."

"Thanks Chloe, I'll call you later."

Lois was sitting on the sofa in the Kent house when Clark walked through the door. Wearing pyjamas and sipping on a hot chocolate, she felt kinda nice. No wonder Joanne had enjoyed staying here so much.

"Joanne." he said, making her pause before getting up. She smiled and walked over to him.

"Hey, where were you? I was worried." she asked, going for a light tone.

"I was visiting Chloe. Listen, I think I have something that might be able to help you."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," He nodded towards the sofa for them to sit and in his hands he held a small lead box.

"What's in the box?"

"Something that I think will fix things. But I need you to just listen to me for a minute okay? What I'm going to say is going to seem pretty out there, but trust me, it's the truth."

"Okay."

Clark took a deep breath and licked his lips, drawing her attention to his mouth. How had she never noticed those lips before, they were so…kissable. And now that she knew what it felt like to kiss him, she knew she wanted to do it again.

"Okay here's what I think happened. You were swimming with us at the lake right? And you got out of the water and ran into the woods…"

"Yeah?"

Clark paused and frowned for a moment, then carried on. "And you fell and hit your head on a rock, do you remember that?"

She pointed to her forehead. "Duh, of course I remember that."

"I think you hit your head on a meteor rock, I found it in the woods where you fell. This rock has…effects on people."

"What kind of effects?" she asked, trying to seem as ignorant as possible though it was hard not to voice how irritated she was at hearing this for the second time.

"I think it split you into two people. I know, it seems crazy, but it has happened to someone before. That's what I think happened to you."

"So you believe that I'm Lois?"

"Yes, I do."

Pushing down the fresh wave of anger, Lois smiled. "It's so nice to hear that you finally believe me."

Clark smiled and rubbed her shoulder. "I told you I would do everything I could to help you, and I think I know a way to fix all this."

"How?"

"This rock," he tapped the box. "It can put you back together."

"And what if…what if Lois won't go for it. She doesn't believe me, why should she? I'm an impostor in her eyes, trying to take over her life. She thinks I'm trying to get to you too."

Clark's eyes narrowed. "When did she tell you this?"

"Uh…she called here earlier, looking for you."

"Really? Well don't worry about it, I'll deal with Lois. She can be a little...tenacious."

Lois shrugged. "I can understand why she's so angry about this."

"Still, it doesn't excuse her baehaviour towards you. Wanting answers is one thing but..."

"She had her reasons Clark."

Clark frowned again, but nodded his head. "I guess. But don't worry, I have a plan."

Lois nodded, feeling torn between being annoyed at him being so helpful to Joanne but not her, and relieved that he hadn't caught on yet. "Well it's late, unless you want to talk some more I really need to get some sleep."

Clark smiled. "It's okay, you go to bed. I'll wake you if I hear anything."

"Okay." She hesitated, then leaned in and kissed his cheek. For a second, Clark leaned into her and she could swear she heard him sniff her hair. Angry, she got up and headed for the stairs. But just before she took the first step, Clark's voice stopped her.

"Oh Lois?"

She answered without thinking. "Yeah?" _Damn! He knew_.

Clark's face had lost almost all of the sympathy it had previously shown as he walked towards her.

In it's place was disappointment and…concern? "Where is she?"

"I don't know."

"Don't lie to me Lois, I know you and I know that you're not yourself right now. Where is she?"

Lois shrugged and grinned. "She said something about overstaying her welcome here and left."

"And I suppose you had nothing to do with her realising that."

"I can't help it if she's so sensitive."

"Where did she go?"

"Why do you care so much about a stranger?" she yelled, getting more and more frustrated.

"Because she isn't a stranger! She's you, don't you see that? Now she's out there, alone, late at night. I have to go find her."

Clark moved to get his jacket but Lois grabbed his hand. "No Clark, let her be. She doesn't need your help, she's playing you, can't you see that?"

He ignored her as he shrugged into his jacket. "I'm going to find her Lois. And when I get back here, you'd better still be here because we are all going to have a little talk."

She didn't even have a chance to respond as he stormed out of the door.

_To Be Continued..._


	14. Chapter 13

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

Clark walked around, keeping his eyes peeled. Joanne couldn't have gotten far, she'd left on foot so she had to still be in town. But there was a sinking feeling in his stomach, and he couldn't ignore it. Entering the Talon, he glanced around and moved toward a long haired brunette woman sitting with her back to him. But as he got closer he realised it wasn't her.

He paused, wondering where to try next. It was possible she'd gotten a taxi somewhere. But where? As he turned to leave his cell phone started ringing.

"Chloe? Please tell me you've heard from Joanne."

"Why?" Chloe asked warily.

"She's missing. Lois turned up at the farm and chased her off while I was with you."

"Oh this is not good." Chloe said with a groan.

"No, it isn't. I don't know where she is, but I have to find her Chloe. I don't like the thought of her being out there alone. She's…"

"Vulnerable?"

Clark paused on the side of the road and frowned. Vulnerable was not really a word he'd use to describe Lois. She would kick his butt if he did but he knew that Joanne…well she was.

"Yeah. Where are you?" he asked, hearing sounds in the background.

"Oliver and I are on our way to the farm. I'm going to try and talk some sense into my cousin and if that doesn't work, well…we're going to need a plan B."

"None of this is going to work at all if I can't find Joanne and bring her home."

"Home?"

Clark rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. Do you have any idea where Lois would go when she was upset or…?"

"The only places I can think of would be to me, which obviously she hasn't, and…well the farm."

"To me?"

"Yeah, she always seems to find her way there when something's bothering her."

Clark closed his eyes for a second, not allowing that to stick in his mind, he would think about it later after he'd found Joanne.

"Okay I'm going to keep looking, you get to the farm, talk to Lois. Do you still have the black kryptonite?"

"Yeah, Oliver has it."

"Okay, call me when you've talked to her. Try and get her to tell you where Joanne may have gone."

"Will do."

Clark put his cell back in his pocket and took a moment to think. The need to find Joanne was becoming a little overwhelming and Chloe's words kept repeating in his head. Maybe it was time to face what he knew deep down was a very real, very deep attraction. Sure he cared about Lois, he always had but it was now a much more profound feeling.

Shaking his head, he put it to the back of his mind, he needed to find Lois' other half and fast.

Lois sat down on the steps of the porch leading into the farmhouse, and smiled. The night was peaceful, calm, but there was an edge of anticipation she couldn't deny. Clark was out there right now, searching for 'Joanne' but he wouldn't find her. It irritated her that he was putting so much effort into finding her.

She chuckled to herself, then raised a hand to shield her eyes from the lights of an approaching car. As it came to a stop and the engine cut out, she saw Chloe and Oliver emerge.

"Chloe, what are you doing here?" she asked, standing to meet them.

"Hey Lois, what uh…" Chloe stopped at the bottom step, looking up at Lois as if she was searching for something. Then she sighed. "What are you doing Lo? This isn't you."

"I don't know what you mean, I'm just trying to get to the bottom of whatever is going on. I would've thought that you, as my family an all, would want that too."

Ignoring the not so subtle barb, Chloe moved up the steps. "Lois, this is serious. Clark was telling the truth, you and Joanne are the same person. Something happened to you to cause this. And we need to fix it."

"You know what?" Lois said angrily. "You need to back off! I am so sick of everyone  
telling me that we're the same person. That freak is not me! And I'm going to prove it to all of you!"

She stormed into the farmhouse to grab her jacket. Chloe and Oliver followed closely behind. "What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked, standing in the doorway.

"You'll see soon enough."

"Lois, where's Joanne? What did you do?" Oliver asked, moving to stand the other side so that Lois was basically trapped. They couldn't let her leave. Not until Clark got back.

"You're serious? I can't believe you're all concerned about a stranger! So much for family. Now get out of my way Chloe."

"No." Chloe crossed her arms and tried to keep from squirming under Lois' intense gaze. The woman could say a lot with her eyes.

"I'm not asking."

"And I'm not moving."

Lois chuckled dryly, shaking her head. "Well, you can't say I didn't warn you."

Then she lunged forward and pushed Chloe so hard that she fell backwards and landed on the porch. As if that wasn't bad enough, the glare Lois sent her as she stepped over her made Chloe's blood run cold.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked, helping her up. They both stared at the trail of dust Lois left as she got into her car and took off at high speed.

Rubbing her elbow, Chloe nodded, but her eyes were glued to the dust now settling in Lois' wake. "We need to get them back together Ollie." He nodded. "Something's happening to Lois, and I have a feeling it's about to get a lot worse."

**~~~~~~**

Clark was getting nervous, he couldn't find Joanne and he'd sped around Granville and all the surrounding villages. He'd checked local bus stops and trains and there was no sign of Joanne.

Wondering if Chloe had managed to get anything out of Lois, he sped back to the farm, but was only greeted by the worried faces of Oliver and Chloe.

"What's wrong?" he asked, stepping inside. He frowned at Oliver putting a bandage on Chloe's elbow. "What happened?"

"I tried to stop Lois from leaving. Never get in Lois Lane's way when she really wants something."

"Lois did this?" Clark asked, shocked.

"It's just a little cut, no big deal."

"But Lois would never hurt you, this is getting out of control. Where did she go?" Clark was beginning to get scared that he would never get the two of them back together.

"She didn't say. She just said something about proving to us that Joanne isn't who we think she is." Oliver replied, clearly as concerned as Clark was.

"She's getting worse Clark, you were right. The longer they stay separated, the more aggressive she's becoming." Chloe said, her eyes reflecting her anguish. "And if this is happening to Lois, what's happening to Joanne?"

Clark forced the worry down deep, he had to focus. "I don't know." Then a thought hit him. "You don't think that…?"

"Think what?"

"That Lois is…hiding her, do you?"

Chloe frowned. "I don't know, getting angry that no one believes her is one thing, but to actually kidnap someone isn't exactly Lois' style."

"But you said yourself she's getting more aggressive. What if she's decided to take matters into her own hands?"

Chloe shook her head adamantly. "No, Lois wouldn't do that. She would never hurt another person. She just wouldn't. Joanne has to be out there somewhere."

"Well if she is, I can't find her. And I've searched everywhere Chloe."

**~~~~~~**

  
Lois parked her car about a mile up the road, hiding it behind some trees. She doubled back to the farm, trying to stay as hidden as possible. Once she reached the storm cellar, she stepped inside and bolted the door. Smiling to herself, she walked down the steps.

"I see you're awake." she said, grinning at a now conscious Joanne, who for her part, looked absolutely terrified.

"Now, perhaps you'll be more willing to co-operate with me. I'm going to take off the gag, but if you so much as breathe wrong I will put it back, understand?"

Joanne nodded, then coughed as Lois pulled the cloth away from her mouth. "What do you want from me?"

"I want the truth."

"I told you the truth." she replied, crying.

"Yeah well, I don't buy it. You've got Clark, Oliver, heck even my own cousin believing your crazy story, but I'm not that gullible." Lois leaned down, right in her face. "Now tell me…"

**~~~~~~**

  
"What are you going to do?" Chloe asked as Clark stepped outside, ready to take off.

"I don't know, it shouldn't be hard to find Lois but I'm worried about Joanne." It was still a weird situation, calling Lois Joanne, but he found it too confusing to call them both Lois. "I will drag them both back here if I need to."

"You need to take me with you." Chloe said.

"Why?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Because what are you going to do if you find them both? You can't touch this stuff Clark." she said, pointing to the box containing the black kryptonite. She had a good point.

He nodded and held out his arms, and just as he was about to speed away, he paused. "Wait, I hear something…"

"What?"

He tilted his head and listened harder. It wasn't far away. "Lois…"

_To Be Continued..._


	15. Chapter 14

**_Chapter Fourteen_**

"I said tell me. The time for secrets and lies is over and you're out of options." Lois said, her voice as dark as the expression on her face. Joanne had no idea how to get out of this situation. It was clear Lois wasn't going to believe her, yet she had no other truth to tell her.

"You can't hurt me." Joanne said, her voice coming out braver than she felt right now.

Lois grinned. "Oh no?"

"We're the same person Lois. If you hurt me, what will happen to you?"

"You make a good point." Lois replied, standing back up. She walked over to the side of the storm cellar and grabbed something from one of the shelves. "I guess we should find out."

"No!"

"What's the problem, if you're telling the truth you've got nothing to worry about, right?"

Joanne let out a scream as Lois stabbed the screwdriver into her hand.

"Hmm, nope…" she said, flexing her own hand. "I didn't feel a thing. Weird huh?"

Before Joanne could even reply, the door burst open and Clark's voice boomed down the stairs.  
"Lois, let her go!"

"Clark!" Joanne cried out, earning her another glare from Lois.

"Oh look, Romeo's here." Lois chuckled darkly as Clark, then Chloe and Oliver appeared at the foot of the stairs. "Aw and you brought reinforcements? How sweet."

His gaze fixed on Joanne, tied up with a bleeding hand and she could see the anger on his face before he quickly buried it.

"Lois you have to stop this." Clark said, his tone pleading as he raised his hands in a calming gesture. "You don't know what you're doing."

"I'm doing what I need to do. And this is none of your business farm boy."

"I can't let you hurt her."

Lois reared back from him, seemingly hurt. "She means something to you."

"No! Yes…you both do. Because you're the _same _person. And I want that person back."

Lois held her arms out wide. "Well here I am. If I'm not enough for you then you can take a hike. I neither want nor need you. Now back the hell off."

"No."

"I swear Clark if you don't…"

Clark stepped right up close to her, so close that their noses were almost touching and for a second Lois faltered. "You'll do what?"

"Get out of my face nerd. I don't want to hurt you but I will."

"I won't let you do this to her Lois." He repeated.

With a sudden surge of anger that Clark had never seen before, Lois shoved him backwards. His foot caught some paint cans behind him and he went tumbling back, falling. Too late, Lois saw the pitchfork sticking up out of a bin full of tools. She screamed as he fell onto it and covered her eyes.

"Oh my God, Clark!" Joanne screamed. Lois immediately dropped her hands and ran over to him.

"Clark, are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm okay. Lois listen to me…"

"Wait, there's not a scratch on you…" she said, examining his back as he stood up. Then both their eyes fell on the now completely bent pitchfork and Lois gasped. "What the…? Clark why didn't that…?" She met his eyes, hers narrowed. "What are you?"

Clark drew in a sharp breath, knowing that there was no way out of this. "It was already broken. That's why it was down here."

"Don't give me that, I saw you fall on it, I saw…no…" she shook her head. "No it's not possible. But I saw…"

While Clark kept Lois talking, Chloe slyly went over to Joanne and started untying her. Oliver stood close by, lead box in his hands, waiting for the right moment.

"Are you a meteor freak?"

Clark flinched, but shook his head. "No, Lois you don't understand. And we can talk about this later."

"No! I want to talk about this now."

"Lois don't you see what's going on here? You're getting worse as time goes on. We have to get the two of you back together or I'm afraid of what will happen. Look at you, this is not you. You've tied someone up; you've physically hurt her, that just isn't you no matter how angry you are."

"Don't pretend like you know me Clark!" she spat. "You know nothing! You sit in your little loft and play with your toys, oblivious to the feelings of others around you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're a dumbass who can't see past his own problems to see that there might be someone willing to help him shoulder them!" she yelled. She laughed bitterly. "Oh and if someone else happens to be suffering? Well they don't even register on your radar, unless your name is Lana Lang."

"Lois, this isn't you." Clark whispered, as if trying to convince himself of that fact.

"Oh I'm fine just the way I am Clark, I don't need to change just because you want me to. And you know what? I don't even care about what's going on with you, you could be an alien for all I care." She laughed again. "You probably are, it would certainly explain a lot."

"That's not fair Lois. We're trying to help you here." Chloe said, speaking for the first time.

Lois turned her attention to her, her eyes flickering dangerously as she saw Chloe helping Joanne wrap something around her hand.

"You. Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You've always been Clark's little lapdog, why should now, when I really need you, be any different? I guess I was stupid to think that being family actually meant anything to you, to any of you!" she said, looking at all of them. "And now when I need you all the most, you turn on me and side with this tramp?"

"That's it, I've heard enough." Oliver said, grabbing Joanne by the arm and leading her towards the stairs.

"She stays here. I'm not done with her yet." Lois growled, reaching for her, but Clark stood in her way, blocking her.

"Yes, you are."

"I can't take this anymore, she's never going to believe us. I'm going to be stuck this way forever." Joanne sobbed, bolting out of the door before Oliver could stop her.

"We'll go after her." Chloe said, following Oliver out.

"Hey, wait up!" Chloe yelled, running after her cousin who was now heading for the road.

"Leave me alone Chloe. I want to be by myself."

"That's not a good idea right now, Lois."

Joanne stopped and turned around, the wind whipping her hair around her face. Cradling her hand she stepped towards Chloe. "You called me Lois."

"That's because you are. We know the truth Lo." Oliver said, catching up.

Joanne started crying again. "Thank God someone believes me. What are we going to do?"

Chloe and Oliver shared a worried glance, both knowing what the other was thinking. Lois was never this emotional. She always stared things like this in the face, she never let them get her down. It was part of being a military brat, Chloe supposed.

But this…wasn't the Lois she knew. Well that she saw very often, anyway. Clearly the longer she spent split from the other Lois, the worse she was getting too. She wrapped an arm around Joanne's shoulders and started guiding her back to the farm house.

"Clark's going to fix this Lo, we know what to do."

"Really?" she asked, hopefully.

"Yes, and you can bet that right now, Clark is giving Lois exactly what she deserves. She'll come around."

Lois crossed her arms and glared at Clark. "So that's it? Everything we've been through since the night I rescued you in a cornfield means nothing? I mean that little to you?"

Clark placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to hold still when she tried to squirm out of his grasp. "You mean more to me than you realise Lois, and I'm hoping that soon, you will see that."

Lois scoffed. "Please! You've spent more time worrying about _her _than anything else. She's all you care about! So just go, be with your little Lois replica. I have nothing more to say to you."

"Well I do!" Clark yelled, getting angry himself now. He took a step back and forced himself to calm down, raking his hands through his hair. "You are the most stubborn woman I have ever met!"

"Yeah well you're pretty frustrating yourself!"

"Well you open your mouth before your brain has a chance to stop you!"

"Momma's boy!"

"Loud mouth!" he yelled without thinking.

She glared. "I hate you Clark."

"Oh really…?"

The heat was rising between them, becoming an almost palpable force. Then, after a pause, Clark lunged for her, his mouth crashing down on hers before she even had a chance to blink. She fought for a second, but eventually melted into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and clinging on for dear life.

His kiss was hard, bruising almost, as if he were pouring every ounce of frustration he felt out. She met him with an equal aggression, grabbing his head, her fingers digging into his hair to hold him against her. She winced as he shoved her up against the wall, feeling something pressing into her back but she didn't care. Raising herself up, she wrapped her legs around his waist and gasped as he started kissing his way down her neck.

"You drive me so crazy." He said, the sound muffled as he kissed across her collar bone.

Breathing heavily as his hands moved up inside her shirt, Lois replied. "Same goes."

She let her hands return the favour, snaking them up under his shirt too. Then as she felt the smoothness of his skin, she paused. "Why didn't you get hurt Clark?"

"Huh?" He moved his head away so that he could look at her, his eyes dark and full of desire.

"The fork. Why didn't it hurt you? Are you an alien?" She meant the last part as a joke but all too quickly, she wished she could take it back.

And then just like that, she watched him change. His eyes cleared, and he became aware of what he was doing. Slowly he lowered her to the ground, his face apologetic as he pulled her shirt back down. Was he ashamed? No, he couldn't be, he'd initiated it…but then why was he acting that way?

"Sorry."

"Why? Because I'm not her?" she said, her tone accusatory.

Clark let out a growl and moved away, his hands flexing as if he was trying not to grab her again. "I shouldn't have let that happen. You're not yourself right now and I…"

"You what?" she challenged.

"I want you to be…you before we…do anything."

Lois laughed. "Aw poor Clarkie, those morals really do pop up at the most inconvenient time huh?" Her glance fell lower. "As well as other things." she smirked.

"Lois," The warning tone of his voice did not go unmissed, but Lois didn't care. She was angry, frustrated and now, to top it all off, she was highly aroused and it was all his fault.

"Don't 'Lois' me Clark. You started this remember? Now the question is…are you going to finish it…?"

Clark cocked his head to the side, watching her intensely. So intensely that she found herself squirming. It was almost as if he was listening hard to something. Then he smiled.

"Sure. I mean…if you're up to the challenge."

Half shocked, half incredibly turned on by his sudden turnaround, Lois nodded. "Oh I'm up to it farm boy. You won't know what hit you."

"Then let's go. We'd be more comfortable back in the house."

"No."

"No?"

"First, you explain to me how you managed to fall on a sharp object, get up unscathed and bend the fork in the process."

"Lois, there'll be time for that later."

"What's the rush? We have all day."

Clark let out a sigh. As Lois took the chair that she'd previously tied Joanne to, he knew he wasn't going to get her out of here without at least telling her something. Maybe it would be okay. Lex never remembered his secret after he'd been put back together, maybe Lois wouldn't either.

But would it really be that bad if she did? He didn't want to think about that right now. Taking a deep breath, Clark kneeled down in front of her. "Okay, I'll tell you…"

**_To Be Continued..._**


	16. Chapter 15

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

"You're sure you're not a meteor freak?" she asked again for the umpteenth time.

Clark sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was more work than he'd anticipated. Of all the things he'd envisioned when telling Lois his secret, her not believing him had not been one of them.

He'd told her pretty much everything about himself. How he'd arrived, why, and that he had abilities. But she'd stared at him throughout the whole thing as if he were telling her he'd just joined the circus. With a mocking, but curious expression. Definitely not what he'd been expecting.

"Yes Lois, I'm sure I'm not a meteor _infected person_." he corrected.

She threw him a sarcastic glare and leaned forward in her seat. "So you're telling me that you're an alien from a distant planet, and you have super powers?"

"Well, alien isn't quite how I'd put it." He replied, a little disconcerted at how she was viewing this. But then again, he had to remember he wasn't exactly dealing with the full-packaged Lois here. She was Lois, only more amped and more aggressive. And getting worse by the minute.

Then she surprised him by laughing. "Oh come on Clark, do you think I was born yesterday? Why can't you just tell me the truth? The meteor rocks obviously did something to you, I don't know why you have to be so ashamed of that to make up a ridiculous story about being from another planet."

Irritated beyond belief, Clark stood up, raked a hand through his hair and started pacing the small storm cellar. "Look, I don't know how to say it any clearer than I already have. Yes I'm from a different planet. It's called Krypton and my parents sent me to Earth just before it exploded."

"How does a planet just explode?"

He shook his head, almost laughing at the fact that he was having to convince her.

"That's not important right now. But Lois, I am telling you the truth."

"So…you just arrived here and the Kents took you in? Just like that?"

"Pretty much, yes."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Prove it."

He blinked. "Prove what?"

Rolling her eyes, she threw up her hands. "All of it."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

She stood and folded her arms. "Well, for starters, if you have all these amazing powers, I would like to see them."

Clark sighed; she obviously wasn't going to believe him until he showed her. So he decided to start with something small, something easy for her to take in. He looked around the storm cellar and found a candle.

Holding it out to her, he said. "Here, hold this for me."

She rolled her eyes again but did as he asked. After a quick glance at her, he focused on the candle and seconds later, a flame burst to life and Lois jumped.

"Whoa! How did you do that?"

"With my eyes."

"You can set stuff on fire just by looking at it?"

"I guess so."

"That is so…" For a moment her face gave nothing away, but then she smiled. "Awesome!"

"I'm glad you think so…" Clark replied, not exactly sure if this meant she now believed him or not. But her reaction struck a chord in him. He felt...proud? No, it couldn't be that, but it did make him feel good.

"What else can you do?" she asked, and he detected a hint of excitement in there.

"Uh, well I can run really fast…"

"How fast?"

"Like speeding bullet-fast and I can hear things that no one else can hear."

"Wow. And you're strong too? Like, really strong?"

He nodded. "Yes. That's why I wasn't hurt when I fell earlier. My skin is virtually impenetrable. I have strength and invulnerability."

She looked away at the ground, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Huh. That actually explains a lot."

He raised a brow at her. "It does?"

"Yeah, like all those times when you'd do something and it would be weird but you'd just put it down to be being strong because of being a farm boy. I always knew there was something…different about you, I just had no idea it meant that you were from another galaxy."

Clark took a deep breath and grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Lois, are you okay with all of this? It's a lot to take in, I know."

"Are you kidding me? Finding out that the man I…my friend is from another planet? It's amazing!"

Clark frowned, wondering what she'd been about to say before she'd caught herself. _The man she what…? _But she reared out of his grasp before he could give it too much thought.

"So how does this…you…tie into that weird rock thing you were talking about?" she asked, changing the subject. "I mean, obviously it came down in the meteor shower, which you also happened to come down in. What is it?"

"It's called black Kryptonite."

"Wait." She closed her eyes and held up a hand. Then she looked at him. "Explain this to me again, how is the black any different to the green? I know the green has…effects on people."

Clark licked his lips, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Lois, and sat down opposite the chair Lois had tied Joanne to. She, however, remained standing, apparently too worked up to be able to sit.

"The black has a different effect. Up until now I didn't even know it could affect people like this without some sort of catalyst."

"What do you mean?"

"Well when this happened to Lex, it was due to green meteor rock being heated and turning to black. The resulting explosion was what caused the split. But with you, there was no explosion."

Lois scoffed and rubbed her forehead. "Maybe not but I certainly saw stars for a while."

"Maybe it was an impact thing then." He said, more to himself than her. "You must've hit the rock pretty hard. Whatever the case, I have no idea how this happened to you Lois, but I promise that I can fix it, if you'll just come inside…"

"And do what?" Clark groaned as he saw her mood take a drastic turn back to the Lois he'd first encountered when coming down here. "Sit and play nice with my stalker? I don't think so."

"Lois, how many times do I have to tell you...?"

"I don't care if she is me!" Lois yelled, surprising both of them. "She is not _me**, **_get it?"

Clark frowned. "I don't follow."

For a few minutes she was silent, arranging her thoughts, while Clark grew more confused. Then eventually she started talking. "She's not the real me Clark. How do you know that this rock didn't just pull out the worst part of me huh? The part I'm better off without? If that's the case then I don't want it back. Who wants to be a snivelling, whiney little wimp, with no backbone like her?"

"Lois…"

"No!" Lois stomped over to him, placed her hands on either side of him and stared him right in the eye. "If that girl is even remotely a part of me, I want her gone. Do you understand me?"

Clark's blood ran cold. "What do you mean gone?"

"I will not be like that. Ever!"

Clark was beginning to get concerned, Lois was clearly not thinking straight here. "Lois, listen to me. Joanne is not a part of you, she _is_ you. Two sides of the same coin. And the longer you stay apart, the more worried I get that something is happening to you. Something bad."

Her smile was icy. "I feel great Clark. In fact, I feel fantastic. I haven't felt this…free in a long time. And you are not taking that away from me." She raised herself back up and started for the stairs.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving."

Clark muttered something under his breath and shot an arm out to grab her, but he pulled her a little too hard and she fell into his lap, her back crashing into his chest, knocking the wind out of her.

"You weren't kidding. I feel like I just hit a brick wall." She said breathlessly.

"I'm sorry. But I can't let you leave Lois. I need to help you."

She turned her head, and Clark was suddenly, painfully aware of the fact that if he moved just an inch, their lips would connect again. No, he couldn't go there, not now. This was too important. He needed to stay focused.

As if sensing his inner turmoil, Lois grinned and moved her hips a little, grinding against him.

His hands immediately shot to her hips, to hold her still. "Lois…don't."

"Don't what Clark?" she asked innocently.

"You know what. You can't do that."

"Come on Clarkie, are you seriously telling me you don't like the new me?" she whispered in his ear, teasing his senses. "You weren't complaining when you kissed me in the club."

Clark pushed her away from him, quickly standing in the process. He took a few calming breaths before he could trust himself to speak. "Lois, just come into the house, this will all be over with and then…"

"And then what? I go back to being plain, old, boring Lois?"

Clark scoffed. "Lois you were never boring. Infuriating at times, frustrating yes, but never boring."

A glint appeared in her eyes as she stepped closer to him. He backed up a little but his back hit some shelves and he realised that he was effectively trapped. "So you admit that you used to check me out?"

He swallowed hard, because once or twice, he had…but he would never admit it to her. "No I didn't, I uh, I mean um…"

Her lips were so close, hovering near his and just as he thought she was about to close in and kiss him, she chuckled and moved away. "It's okay Clark, it'll be our little secret."

She got to the stairs and looked back. "For now."

Clark blew out a breath and shook his head then followed her up the stairs. He was about halfway up when she stopped and leaned over. He moved up and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Lois? What's wrong?"

"My head…ow!" She pressed her fingers to her temples, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Aaggh!" she screamed, throwing herself backwards. Clark caught her but the force sent them both tumbling down the stairs. He twisted so that she landed on top of him, but as he looked up to see if she was okay, he noticed that she was unconscious.

Fear crept up on him, sneaking in and finding its way to his heart. "Lois?"

"What's taking him so long?" Joanne asked as she sat on the sofa in the Kents' living room, hands pressed tightly together, knees jumping up and down.

Chloe was sitting next to her whilst Oliver was in the kitchen making some tea. She looked at her cousin with worry. Her whole body was shaking, and she looked like she was on the verge of crying again.

"Well if I know my cousin, and I do, I would say Clark's having a hard time getting through to her right now."

Joanne's eyes widened. "Oh God, what if he can't? What if we can't fix this? I'm going to be stuck this way forever."

Chloe put a hand on hers, trying to calm her but having zero effect. "He will, trust me. Clark has a way with…well I don't need to tell you that, you already know."

"That's just the thing, I don't Chloe. I can't remember a lot and what I do remember is fading. I'm scared Chlo…"

Her breathing was growing faster, alarming Chloe. "Hey, Lois, calm down…just take a deep breath, we'll fix…"

Joanne grabbed her head, grimacing. "Oh my God, my head…"

"Lois?" Oliver walked into the room, catching Chloe's worried gaze and mirroring it. Something was very wrong here.

"Chloe…it hurts!" She pressed her fingers hard into her temples and started rocking back and forth.

"I'm going to get Clark." Oliver said, running over to the back door, but Chloe's urgent tone stopped him.

"Oliver!" He turned around to see Joanne lying across Chloe's lap, unconscious.

Two seconds later the back door opened and Clark walked in carrying Lois in his arms, also unconscious.

"What the hell's happening?" Oliver asked. "Joanne's out too."

Clark's eyes shot to Joanne, then back to Lois. "I don't know but whatever it is, we need to act fast. This is getting worse and I don't think we have much time left."

"What do you think it is?" Chloe asked, carefully moving Joanne so that she could stand up for Clark to place Lois next to her. The three of them fell silent for a moment as they looked at the sofa, occupied by two bodies, but both of them the same woman. It was eerie.

"Clark, Joanne said that she can't remember much, and what she does remember is fading. What's happening?"

Clark caught the worried tone of Chloe's voice, and felt it inside himself too. "I don't know, but I'm guessing that the longer they stay separated, the worse it's going to get."

"So what are we going to do?"

"You have the rock?"

"Yeah, it's in my purse." She walked over and fished the small lead box out of her bag.

"Better stand back Clark, just in case. The last thing we need right now is two of you running around."

Clark did as she said and stepped into the kitchen, but watched with intense eyes. Taking a deep breath, Chloe joined both Lois and Joanne's hands together, palms facing up, and then she tipped the rock into them and stood back.

Nothing happened.

"I don't understand, why isn't it working?" Oliver asked, frowning.

"I don't know." Clark replied, troubled.

Chloe looked up at him. "Clark! What the hell are we going to do now?"

**_To Be Continued..._**


	17. Chapter 16

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

"Clark!" Chloe yelled bringing Clark's attention back to the room. "What are we going to do? I thought this would work. You said it would work!"

"I'm thinking!" he replied, his tone a lot harder than he'd meant it to be. Chloe blinked and backed off a little, looking down at her unconscious cousins. She shook her head but remained silent whilst Clark started pacing the kitchen in frustration.

"It should've worked, so why didn't it? It's virtually the same rock that started this mess. What am I missing?"

"Not that I want to interrupt this internal pondering Clark…" Oliver said, stepping into the kitchen, keeping his voice low. "But I don't think we have a lot of time here. Lois is getting worse…"

"Don't you think I know that?" Clark snapped, but immediately regretted it when he saw the concern on Oliver's face. "Sorry, I just…I need a moment to think."

He glanced into the living room, a frown creasing his brow as he looked at the two women on the sofa. He had to figure this out. Lois needed him to. He couldn't lose her, not now, not when…

Oliver clapped him on the shoulder. "It's okay. But just to be on the safe side, I think I'm going to try and find some more of that rock. Maybe that one is just…" He shook his head, clearly confused and worried. "I don't even know man, but I gotta do something. I'll be back in a little while."

Clark nodded and Oliver left through the back door just as Chloe walked into the kitchen.

"Where's he going?"

"I think he just needs to do something…anything right now."

Chloe sighed and crossed her arms. "I know the feeling. I feel so helpless Clark. We have to find a way to fix this."

Clark looked at her with such sadness. "Chloe…I don't know how."

Chloe looked at Lois and Joanne then back to Clark. "Why don't we go and sit down, maybe we can figure this out." She led him over to the table in the dining room just off the kitchen.

Chloe sat opposite him and folded her hands together on the table. "Okay….we need a plan."

Lois was surrounded by fog. Thick, dense and frightening fog. She frowned, knowing that this wasn't right, that she was probably dreaming or something. She felt the pull of consciousness tugging at her, but she could hear voices. Chloe's and…Clark's. What were they talking about?

She opened her eyes and turned her head slowly, waiting for the dizziness to dissipate, and she saw them, standing in the kitchen with their backs to her. And they were murmuring about something but she couldn't make out the words. Then Chloe led Clark away, out of sight and around the corner. She glanced to her right, noting that Joanne was also passed out next to her.

"Crap." She whispered to herself.

If the same reason she had passed out, also affected Joanne then it was highly likely that Clark had been telling the truth. Which meant…that this person was a part of herself? No…more than that, she _was_her. So what was she supposed to do now? Let Clark glue her back together with this…simpering idiot? No way, no how! She would never go back to being that way. She liked herself just as she was.

Still hearing voices coming from the kitchen, Lois carefully moved off the sofa and stood, looking down at a mirror image of herself. Grabbing the black rock, she moved silently to the front door, wincing as she opened it, and then carefully closed it behind her, satisfied that it hadn't made a sound. She held the rock tight in her grasp as she ran to her car, hoping that by taking it with her, there was no way that Clark could bibbity bobbity boo them back together.

"So you think Lois hitting her head on the rock had something to do with why it isn't working now?" Chloe asked, shifting in her seat as she looked at Clark. He was clearly concerned; his frown just kept growing deeper and deeper.

"Maybe, I don't know. It just seems weird that you've touched it and nothing happened. So yeah, I think her hitting her head was the catalyst. I just don't know how." Clark groaned and leaned back in his seat, rubbing a hand down his face.

"So the question is, how do we find a way of repeating that catalyst? I don't really feel comfortable with bashing her over the head with a rock." Chloe grimaced. "Besides would that even work now that there are two of them?"

Clark ran both hands through his hair, frustrated beyond belief that this was even happening in the first place, let alone trying to find a way out of it.

"Can't you ask Jor-El for help? Maybe he knows a way…"

Clark shook his head. "I don't know Chloe, I don't know if he would even be willing to help Lois."

"He has to do something, these rocks, they're dangerous and whether he likes it or not, he's partly responsible for it."

Clark narrowed his eyes. "Meaning the meteor shower was his fault because he sent me to this planet?"

"No, no that's not what I meant at all and you know it. Besides, the meteor shower would've happened regardless right? Your planet blew up, not exactly something you could prevent."

Chloe let out a tired sigh and started to speak again, but she was cut off by a sharp gasp behind her. She turned around, seeing Joanne standing there with her mouth wide open and her eyes almost popping out of her head.

"Hey…" Chloe stood up slowly, not wanting to spook her.

Joanne backed up a step as Chloe moved closer, fear evident in her gaze. "Who…who are you?"

Clark stood up and walked around the table to them, stopping next to Chloe. "Joanne? Are you alright?"

Tears started falling from her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't know. I just woke up here and…" Her gaze flicked to Chloe then back to Clark. "Clark who is she? And why was she saying those weird things about you?"

Clark groaned inwardly and closed his eyes. Why did she have to hear that of all things? It was the last thing either of them needed right now. More importantly, why did she seem to know who he was but not Chloe?

"You don't know who I am?" Chloe asked, stepping forward slightly.

"Should I?" Joanne replied, unconsciously taking a step closer to Clark.

"I'm your cousin."

She shook her head. "No, you're not. I've never seen you before in my life."

Chloe looked to Clark for help but he was looking into the living room. "Clark…?"

"We may have a bigger problem Chloe." He turned back to her. "The rock is gone. And so is Lois."

* * *

Lois pulled her car up to the side of the road and cut the engine off. Leaning her head back against the seat she let out the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding since getting out of Smallville. She had never driven so fast in her life. She knew that Clark would come after her, that he would more than likely find her since he was super powered, and boy was that taking some getting used to?

She should've guessed though, she realised, throughout the years whenever something strange happened he was always around, or at the centre of it. But she could never in a million years have guessed that he wasn't from this planet. It just seemed too…incredible to believe.

Glancing down at the seat next to her, she grabbed the rock and stuffed it into her glove compartment and then got out of the car. Knowing that Clark would find her was one thing, but she sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for him.

She walked a few blocks, leaving her car parked where it was, and entered a small bed and breakfast place.

"Welcome to the Granville Inn, how may I help you?" A small, elderly lady asked, approaching from behind the counter.

Lois smiled politely and fished out her credit card. "Yes I'd like a room please."

"Okay. And how long will you be staying?"

Lois looked out the window, the street was quiet, hardly anyone around. Perfect. "For a while."

* * *

"This is just great! Lois is gone, the rock's gone, and this one doesn't even know who I am. Things could not get any worse." Chloe said, holding her head in her hands as she plonked herself down on the sofa.

Joanne stood close to Clark and it took all his strength not to reach out and hug her, he could feel her shaking, no, trembling beside him. She was scared and truthfully, he was too. The fact that she couldn't remember Chloe meant one thing. She was getting worse, just like Lois, and pretty soon, if he didn't so something, he was afraid that she would forget who he was too.

"I'll go look for her." Clark said, starting to move away but Joanne grabbed his hand.

"No Clark! Don't leave me here with her, please!" He could hear the desperation in her voice, and felt powerless to deny her.

"I'll go. She can't have gotten that far, we weren't talking for that long." Chloe stood, took one last pleading look at Joanne, then shook her head and walked out the front door.

He heard her let out a relieved breath. "Are you okay?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, obviously lying.

"Lois…"

The corners of her mouth tilted upwards, only briefly at the name, but then the fear was back. "I don't understand Clark, what's happening?"

He took her hands in his and led her over to the sofa. "I promise that I'm doing everything I can to help you, but I need the other Lois here to do that. And right now, I don't know where she is."

"I meant…" she paused and he saw her swallow hard before she spoke again. "That woman said…"

"Chloe."

"Chloe said…you…you're not…human?"

_Oh boy, here we go again_, he thought. _How much should I really tell her_? "It's a long story."

Something flickered in her eyes, something he couldn't read and then she withdrew her hands from his and folded her arms again. "You don't want to tell me. It's okay Clark…"

"No it's not that…Lois look at me, please."

She kept her gaze on the fireplace until he cupped her jaw and turned her head. "I don't know how else to tell you, but yes…what Chloe said was true."

He heard her sharp intake of breath but she stayed silent.

"I am from another planet. It's called Krypton. It was destroyed when I was a baby and my parents sent me to Earth to save me."

"Oh Clark…" she said, so sadly that it made him pause. There was such a look of sorrow in her eyes. "You never knew your parents?"

Her reaction confused him because it wasn't what he'd been expecting. He scoffed inwardly; first Lois didn't believe him, now Joanne was feeling sorry for him. Amazing.

"My planet was quite advanced and my father made sure that I wouldn't be alone when I got here. He left me something that would help guide me." He still wasn't sure how much to tell her, she was on edge right now and he really didn't want to cause her any further upset. "But I did meet my mother."

"Oh Clark you must've felt so lonely growing up." She cried. "I just can't imagine what you went through…I…" She broke down, her tears flowing freely now as the sobs started.

"Hey, it's okay…" he said, trying to soothe her but she was growing hysterical, her breath hitching in her throat, her whole body shaking.

She gripped his shirt in both fists. "I'm so sorry Clark, you are a wonderful man and you deserve to be happy…"

Without thinking Clark drew her into his arms, rubbing her back as she pressed herself into him. "I am happy Lois."

"But…how, I mean I don't…" she sighed and he felt her breath warm through his shirt, right into his skin. "This is all so…"

"Crazy?"

She pulled back, staring into his eyes. "No, amazing. But you never got to know your own people, your family…it's so sad…"

"Listen to me," he said, holding her at arm's length, a wave of emotions he couldn't identify washing over him. "I am happy Lois, because I have loving parents who raised me and cared for me and I have great friends...and _you_."

"Me? What good am I to you?" she sniffled. "I'm a mess. I apparently can't even remember my own cousin."

He tilted his head and gave her a sympathetic look. "It's not your fault. You're going through something right now and we just need to get it fixed. You'll be back to your old self in no time."

A distressed look crossed her features. "Oh so you prefer me that way? I'm not acceptable like this?"

_Oh man__!_"That's not what I meant…"

She reared up out of his grasp, backing up into the kitchen. "Just say it Clark, you want her not me."

He stood slowly. "You don't understand…"

"You like the dangerous sassy Lois. Not…" she looked down at herself. "_This_."

He sped over to her, to stop her reaching for the door, but realised his mistake when he saw the fear in her eyes. Cursing himself for not preparing her about his abilities, he tried to explain.

"Lois, I need you to calm down and listen to me okay?"

"You just…I mean I blinked and you were right here. You moved so fast! How did you move so fast?"

Clark pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. He had to laugh at that thought, he who never got sick, was getting a headache and all because of one woman. Well two, he corrected. But not for much longer, he hoped.

* * *

"Oliver…we have a problem." Chloe said into her Bluetooth earpiece as she drove through Smallville. There was no sign of Lois' car, no sign at all of Lois. "Where are you?"

"I'm heading back to the farm, what's wrong?"

"Lois is missing and Joanne apparently now can't even remember who I am."

"What? How on earth did that happen?"

"Clark and I were talking in the kitchen, Lois must've woken up and left. Oh and the best part? Joanne heard Clark and I talking about Jor-El and Krypton…she kinda freaked out a little."

Oliver groaned over the phone. "Okay, well I got something that might help. I think."

The uncertainty in his voice didn't win Chloe over. But for any plan to work they first had to find the missing Lois. "Okay well I'm heading to the Talon since I'm almost there, I need to try and trace Lois. Maybe I can get a read on her cell or something, I just hope she left her laptop there."

Oliver sighed. "Okay, I'll meet you there."

"You don't have to Ollie…"

"Listen, if you find Lois, I want to be with you, right now she's not in the best frame of mind for you to be dragging her back to Smallville."

Chloe winced. "I get your point. Okay, see you there."

* * *

Clark held out the box again, waiting for Joanne to take another tissue. She sniffled and dabbed at her eyes, avoiding his worried gaze.

"I'm sorry Clark, I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't seem to turn it off."

"You don't have to apologise, I understand. But…are you okay?"

"I don't even know what 'okay' is anymore."

They were currently sitting on the steps of the porch outside because Joanne had gone awfully pale and almost fainted again. Luckily, she hadn't once she'd gotten some fresh air but it was enough to worry Clark. He felt bad that this was happening to her, that Lois was off somewhere alone and that Joanne was having such a rough time.

The desperation and vulnerable look in her eyes made his chest ache and he didn't know how to ease it. He felt as if he were being pulled in two different directions, wanting to go and find Lois but needing to stay with Joanne. She seemed to need him more. Since he was the only person she actually had any memory of, she was depending on him to be there for her.

He couldn't…wouldn't let her down.

It was slightly unnerving, seeing Lois this afraid, this scared. He didn't quite know how to handle that. She was always the one who had a snappy comeback for everything. He always knew she had a softer side, but he'd never expected this. He had to keep reminding himself that this was a very amped up version. Just as Lois got more aggressive as time went on, Joanne seemed to grow more and more vulnerable.

He scooted a little closer to her, until his thigh was pressed against hers. "I mean, with everything I've just told you…about my abilities, are you okay with it all?"

"I think so. I'm sorry I got a little hysterical, I don't know what that was."

"Lois, please stop saying you're sorry. Really, I don't mind."

She leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. He felt a silent sob wrack through her but was relieved to see she wasn't crying. Leaning his cheek against her hair, he inhaled deeply, liking the scent of it.

"Clark?"

"Yeah?"

"What's happening to me? Why can't I remember anything? Just you."

He didn't want to tell her the truth, he wanted to protect her from that. So instead he turned towards her, and placed his hands on either side of her face. She pursed her lips, looking once again afraid and he wanted to erase that look forever. He didn't like it one bit and it was a look he should never have to see from her.

"I'm going to fix this Lois, I promise you that."

He felt something pulling at him, making him move closer, almost like an invisible force. Lowering his head, he gently touched his lips to hers, meaning for it to be a comforting kiss. But when she grabbed onto his shoulders and deepened it, he knew he was lost.

He gave in to the sensations that she was arousing, letting her in, and hoping that she would remember at least this much when this was all over.

It took both of them a moment to realise that Clark's phone was going off in the kitchen. Slowly, he pulled away, his lips lingering over hers for a few seconds before he lowered his hands and stood up. Walking back into the house, he waited until Lois was comfortable on the sofa before answering.

"Hello?"

"Clark why the hell weren't you answering your phone?" Chloe yelled in his ear.

"Sorry, I was dealing with…something. What's wrong?"

"I think I found Lois."

"Where?"

"I traced her phone but she must've turned it off so I tried anything I could, I got a hit on her credit card."

Clark glanced at Joanne, who seemed to be feeling much better now if the colour in her face was any indication. And at least she'd stopped crying now. "Where is she Chloe? It's time to end this."

"She's in Granville, at a place called the Granville Inn. Hurry Clark, we don't know how long she's going to stay in one place."

"What about…?"

"Oliver and I are on our way back to the farm. She won't be alone for long."

"Okay, thanks." He hung up and walked into the living room. "Lois, I have to go out for a little while…"

Her head shot up, her eyes pinning him with a terrified look. "No, don't leave me Clark. Please, I don't wanna stay here alone."

With a heavy feeling in his chest, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can I promise. But this is important."

"Oh…I see." The disappointment in her voice told Clark that clearly she didn't.

"Hey," he said softly, and touched her cheek. "I'm going to get Lois and bring her back here."

"You know how to fix us?" she asked with hope in her voice and eyes.

He swallowed past the sudden lump in his throat. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't. "I think I might. Sit tight, I'll be right back okay?"

Unexpectedly she leaned forward, grabbed his face and placed a kiss on his lips, surprising him. When she ended it, she glanced up at him shyly. "Hurry."

_**To Be Continued...**_


	18. Chapter 17

**_Chapter Seventeen_**

The Granville Inn was a small but charming little place, Clark thought as he paused outside it. It was the largest in a row of old style town houses, situated on the corner in the centre of town.

He checked his cell phone as he opened the door and stepped inside. There was one message from Chloe, stating that Joanne was less than happy to now find herself in the company of two complete strangers and urging him to get a move on.

"Welcome to the Granville Inn," An elderly lady with a polite smile shuffled up to the counter. "How may I help you?"

"Hi, uh I was wondering if you could tell me if a woman by the name of Lois Lane checked in here. Not too long ago. She has long, dark brown hair and she would've been wearing a light blue jacket…"

The woman glanced at him over the thick lenses of her glasses. "Oh I'm sorry young man I can't give out that kind of information."

_Of course_. "I understand, it's just that she's a very close friend of mine and something happened earlier today, and I just want to make sure that she's okay."

The lady shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm afraid I can't help you."

"It's really important."

To her credit, the woman, whose name was Penelope, did look conflicted. Clark could see that she wanted to help but her morals wouldn't allow it. "I'm sorry."

Offering a brief smile, Clark nodded. "Well could you maybe give her a message for me then?"

"Of course." Her smile faded for a second as if realising that she'd just slipped up. By agreeing to give her a message, she'd just confirmed that Lois was indeed staying here.

"Could you tell her that Clark Kent called and that it's very, _very_ urgent that she contact me right away?"

"I certainly will if I see her. And again, I'm sorry that I can't be of more help to you. You seem like a very nice young man."

"It's okay, thank you ma'am." With a slight nod of his head, he left.

Standing outside, Clark checked his watch. Time seemed to be racing by at lightning speed. With a heavy sigh, knowing he would have to resort to using his abilities to find her, Clark tilted his head and listened.

~~~~~~~~

Lois stepped out of the shower feeling a little better as she dried her hair with a towel. With nowhere she could really go and not much on TV, her choices of something to do had been fairly limited. But after checking her hands and grimacing at the wrinkly finger tips, she realised that maybe a forty-five minute shower had been a little too much.

Still, she felt refreshed, revitalised and ready to tackle whatever came her way next.

She moved over to stand in front of a square shaped mirror attached to the bathroom wall, but a shadow caught her eye making her jump and spin around.

"Clark? How the…?

He was standing in the bathroom doorway, but beyond him she could see the bedroom window open and she knew it hadn't been like that before. "Did you just break into my hotel room?"

He had schooled his features into a complacent expression but she could feel the annoyance radiating from him. Well that and…there was something else in his eyes. Something she couldn't quite figure out.

And then she realised that she was only wearing a towel wrapped loosely around her body and suddenly the look in his eyes made sense. He wanted her. That much she was sure of.

She smiled lazily. "What's the matter Smallville? Déjà vu?"

Clark shook his head and tried to focus. What on earth was wrong with him? Lois and Joanne were in trouble, their lives in danger, and here he was distracted by the thought that there was nothing beneath the towel that was coming dangerously close to falling. And from past experience he knew all too well what was underneath that towel.

As much as he wanted to avoid it at this particular moment, he could no longer go on pretending that he didn't want her. Just the sight of that smooth, satiny skin was enough to send his pulse racing. He blinked, averting his gaze, feeling his cheeks heat up at her smirk.

"You weren't so shy about looking the first time." She chuckled, stepping closer to him.

He knew he should move back, but his feet felt as if they were glued to the floor. And her scent filled his head, intoxicating. "Uh, Lois I…" he cleared his throat but it was no use, she was too close, and she smelled so good. When she raised a hand to touch his chest, he felt a shiver go down his spine.

"Why did you come to find me?" she whispered.

"I'm worried about you." He replied, whispering also.

"Why?"

Why was she pressing this? He would've thought it would be fairly obvious so what reason did she need? "Because I care Lois, and I don't want anything bad to happen to you."

She snorted. "It's a little late for that, don't you think?"

"I'm so sorry that this happened in the first place."

"Do you always do that?"

He frowned, still very much aware of where her hand was and how close she was standing. "Do what?"

"Blame yourself. Listen who I'm talking to, of course you do. But why?"

"Because this is…" He let out a sigh and stepped back. "This would never have happened to you if you hadn't hit your head on that rock."

"You mean the Kryptonite."

"Yes." Hearing her say that word was still a little jarring. He'd never thought that Lois would find out his secret this way.

"And you think if you hadn't been sent to this planet then the rock wouldn't have even been there in the first place." That wasn't a question. "Clark…get over it."

He blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Get over it! It happened, you're here…with us, so deal with it and move on."

"I don't think you understand Lois…"

She rolled her eyes. "I get it, believe me. You feel guilty for all the bad that's gone wrong since you arrived here. You think none of it would've happened if you'd died on your planet too. Well have you ever stopped to think about the people you have helped? How many of those would've died if you hadn't stepped in? Do you ever think about the fact that you have so many abilities that if you wanted to, you could take over this planet? Instead you chose to protect it and the people in it. So stop being such a baby about it and just accept it!"

Clark stared at her for a few moments, a little taken aback by her rant and not really sure how to respond to it.

Again she walked a little closer and it wasn't until he felt the wall behind him that he realised she'd backed him right up against it. Then she did something he never expected, she placed both hands on the wall either side of his head and his eyes were…well they were drawn downwards. All he could think about was catching that damn towel if it fell.

"You know this isn't your fault right?" She said it so matter-of-factly that he knew she wasn't trying to make him feel better. Something told him this particular Lois wouldn't waste her time trying to do that. No, she was simply stating what she thought was fact.

He didn't know what to say so he just nodded his head. She leaned in and placed a quick kiss on his mouth, just a peck really but one that he'd wanted more from.

"So you broke into my hotel room…why?" she said, bringing him back to reality with a thud. "Beside to ogle me, that is." She winked.

Ignoring that jibe, Clark carefully placed his hands on her bare shoulders and gently pushed her away. "I need you to come back to Smallville with me."

"Nope."

"What do you mean nope?"

She shrugged, hitched her towel up a little and turned her back to him to face the mirror again. "Exactly what I said Clark. No. You do know the meaning of that word don't you?"

"Lois, this isn't funny and it isn't a game…"

"No, it isn't." she agreed.

He paused, taking a moment to think of what to say. Then he moved forward. "Lois, this is your life we're talking about…"

She turned around again, and this time, she was angry. "Exactly! _My_ life. Not yours, or anyone else's. Mine. And I get to decide what happens with it."

Clark let out a growl of frustration. "So running away and hiding is the Lois Lane thing to do?"

"I'm not hiding." She said, but he could see his words had gotten to her. Maybe he'd touched a nerve.

Clark couldn't help it, the laughter bubbled up and out before he could stop it. "Come on Lois, you were raised by a General, you don't know how to face what's really going on here?"

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? What does how I was raised have to do with my situation?"

"No, not that. Us!" he paused a took a deep breath. "Look, there's something between us, I'm not denying that and you shouldn't either."

"So you see it?"

"Yes, of course I do. But Lois, nothing will happen between us."

Her jaw actually dropped right before the storm appeared in her eyes. "What?"

"Not until you're back to normal. This is just…crazy. I want you back, all of you, in one piece."

He could see her mulling the words over in her head, but she stayed quiet for a few minutes. Then she looked at him and for the first time, she looked unsure. "I'm sorry Clark, I can't go back to being like that."

She folded her arms in front of her, but that only made the situation worse. _Focus you idiot!_ "Lois can you please just…get dressed?"

She grinned. "Too much for you Clarkie?"

"Just get dressed, I'll wait outside."

He walked out into the living room and took a seat on the sofa to collect his thoughts. Dropping his head into his hands, he groaned. How was it that she could have this effect on him? What had changed? _You have_, he realised.

All this time he'd been hiding what he felt, scared of what it meant, scared of the outcome. But he had to admit, he'd always noticed her. But it wasn't just that…there was the Joanne side of her too. And as he thought about her, he realised that Lois, the whole version, was the perfect package. She was kind, sensitive deep down, thoughtful and not to mention, really sexy too.

A few minutes later he heard the door to the bedroom open and Lois walked out wearing the clothes she'd left Smallville in earlier.

"All better?" she asked, grinning at him again then walking over to her purse that was lying on the coffee table. "I should've realised that you weren't used to the sight of a naked woman yet."

That was it, the final straw. He didn't know what made him do it, truthfully he probably wasn't thinking that much at all. He just grabbed her, and sped out of the room.

"Lois you need to stop pacing, I'm starting to feel a little dizzy over here." Chloe said from the sofa, watching as Joanne continued to pace the length of the kitchen.

She'd been doing it since her and Oliver had arrived at the farm and even though she claimed that she was okay with them being there, her actions said otherwise. She wouldn't even put herself in the same room as them, let alone anywhere near them. It frustrated Chloe that her own cousin would feel that way towards her but she had to remember that this Lois had no idea who she was. She looked so scared, Chloe thought, wishing that Clark would hurry up.

"I can't." she replied in a shaky voice. Then she glanced at her. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I'm positive that Clark will be here soon. He doesn't hand out promises unless he can keep them."

Joanne offered a brief smile then went back to pacing. Chloe turned to her left. "So? You wanna fill me in on the big plan you have?"

Oliver grimaced, looking guiltily at her. "I uh, actually I don't have a plan."

"What? I thought you said…"

"No, I said I _think_ I might have something that could help us, but it's not exactly a plan."

Chloe shook her head. "Then what the heck is it?"

He took a small box out of his jacket pocket and opened it. Chloe sighed. "Please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

"What? It might work Chloe, it has before."

"This is different Ollie! It's a totally different scenario for a start…"

Oliver opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by the front door opening, then slamming closed. And then…oh boy, Lois' angry voice filled the room and she was not a happy camper.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled, straightening her jacket out as Clark placed her down on the floor. "You may be strong Clark but that does _not_ mean you have the right to go all caveman, manhandle me, and drag me back to your lair! I mean of all the macho bull-"

Clark stayed silent until she was done, watching her intently but refusing to back down. "Are you finished?" he asked when Lois finally stopped ranting.

"Clark?" A tiny voice came from the kitchen, and Lois turned her glare onto Joanne.

Chloe braced herself as she walked up to her, ready to leap into action if Lois became violent towards her again, but she just stood there, watching her. No, Chloe corrected herself, intimidating her. Poor Joanne, she just stood there with a rabbit caught in the headlights expression and holding her injured hand protectively against herself. Chloe didn't know how much more of this she could withstand.

"Lois, back off." Clark's voice was strong and when Chloe glanced at him she could see that he was done with the soft approach. It clearly wasn't working anyway so that was good.

Lois turned around, arms folded, hip jutting out in a defiant stance. "And if I don't?"

Oliver and Chloe shared a glance, one that Clark didn't miss, then they both looked at him and nodded. He shook his head quizzically but neither one of them answered.

"Thought so." Lois turned back to Joanne. "You know, when Clark first told me what had happened, obviously I didn't believe him, but then…this happened and I guess I can't deny it any longer. But mark my words…" She leaned in closer, pinning Joanne against the counter. "I won't go back."

"Hey Lois!" Oliver yelled, throwing something at her. On reflex she caught it, looked at it, then laughed.

"Oh Oliver, the black one didn't work, and that was the cause, how is this going to?"

Clark leapt into action before he lost his moment of opportunity. He zeroed in on the little green rock in her hand, making sure to keep a good distance away from it even though he could still feel some of its effects. His blood felt like it was starting to come to a boil, his head pounded, but he pushed past it and focused on the rock, staring hard until the heat exploded out of his eyes.

Lois gasped as she felt it heat up in her palm, then just as she realised what was actually happening, she tried to drop it. "No! Clark….."

There was a bright flash and a loud boom, and then everything fell silent. Clark blinked rapidly, unable to feel the effects anymore, and that could only mean one thing. He raced into the kitchen and looked down, the green kryptonite was now a smoking black rock and there were three people lying on the ground.

Oliver and Chloe were just starting to get up, groaning and holding their heads, but Clark's attention was glued to one person. _One._

"Lois?" Crouching over her, he smoothed her hair away to reveal her face. She was out cold.

"Did it work?" Chloe asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied, with a frown, worried. "It worked."

"Is she okay? Why isn't she waking up?"

Clark lifted her into his arms gently, and crossed over to the sofa, laying her down with great care.

He turned back to Chloe, and sighed. "I honestly don't know."

_**To Be Continued...**_


	19. Chapter 18

**_Chapter Eighteen_**

The Kent farm was quiet. Too quiet. Only the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees and the cows calling in the distance broke the silence. Clark stood on the porch, staring out at the fields surrounding him, his mind lost in thought as he nursed a mug of coffee.

The sun was beginning to set, casting a soft orange glow over the sky. And all he could think about was Lois. She'd been through so much in the last couple of weeks, how could any one person withstand it all, he wondered. But she was strong, she would get through this, she had to.

"Hey," Chloe said softly behind him. He hadn't even heard her come out. "Are you okay?"

"How is she?" he asked, ignoring her question, because right now it was one he didn't have an answer for.

Chloe moved to stand beside him, but shook her head. "She's still out. What are you  
doing out here anyway?"

"I needed some air." Truthfully he hadn't been able to stay in there without feeling like he was going crazy. Watching her sleeping was hard because he had to know that she was okay. If she would just wake up, he could ask. "Maybe we should take her to the hospital."

"And tell them what?" Chloe asked sadly.

"Chloe, she's been unconscious for two hours, we have to do something."

Chloe tilted her head and gave him a look of sympathy. "You really care about her, don't you?"

He frowned. "What kind of a question is that? You know I care."

"I do, but it's more than that isn't it?" At Clark's questioning look she held up a hand to stop him talking. "Just hear me out. She's my cousin, and I love her but with you, it's different. You two have a bond that you and I never quite had. You banter, flirt…"

"Whoa, wait a minute…flirt? I do not flirt with her."

Chloe scoffed. "Of course you don't. Clark has it slipped your mind that you kissed her?"

No actually it hadn't. That was one of the things his mind kept going over and over.

Relentlessly.

"That you kissed both Lois _and_ Joanne? Doesn't that tell you anything?"

"Okay Chloe enlighten me, what does that mean exactly?" His tone was one of impatience, but truthfully he actually wanted to know the answer.

"That you're attracted to her. _All_ of her. The snarky nature that you claim to hate, the way you claim she annoys you, all of it." She paused for a beat, watching him closely. "I wasn't wrong before."

"When?"

"When I said that you loved her. I'm not am I?"

"Not what?"

Chloe gave him a 'don't act dumb' look and sighed. "You're in love with her."

"Chloe, is this really the best time to talk about this?" he snapped, then immediately felt bad.

"I just…I…" He closed his eyes for a second and gathered his thoughts. "I'm just worried about her."

Chloe narrowed her eyes, staring at him for a few minutes. Then as if she knew she wouldn't get any further, she dropped the subject.

"I know, I am too. Clark do you think she'll remember any of this?"

"I hope not."

"You don't want her to remember your secret do you?"

"No!" He rolled his eyes and leaned against the railing, staring out towards the fields again. "It's not that, it's just…I never imagined telling her like that."

"But you imagined telling her?" Chloe asked, intrigued by that little revelation.

"Maybe one day. I don't like keeping secrets from those I care about. And Lois and I have grown…closer, so I would like to think that I would've told her. But not like this."

"This wasn't your fault Clark."

He sighed, remembering Lois telling him the same thing, in a very different way. "I know."

"Then what's really bothering you?"

Clark flicked a glance through the kitchen window, saw Oliver sitting on the coffee table next to the sofa, where Lois was currently lying. "Nothing."

"Clark…"

"It's nothing that can't wait Chloe." His tone told her to leave it alone. So she nodded, patted his arm and walked back into the house.

Clark was relieved, at the moment he was too worried about Lois to figure out what was going on in his own head. He knew the affects that Kryptonite could have on people; he didn't want Lois to be one of them. He had no idea what was going on in her head, whether she would remember any of the events that transpired or not. But she deserved to not remember all that. He would confront his feelings for her, when she woke up.

And not before.

"How's he doing?" Oliver asked as Chloe sat down next to him on the coffee table.

"I have no idea."

"He's taking all this pretty hard huh?"

"Yeah, and he won't talk to me about it either. I think once she wakes up and he can see that she's okay, he'll be fine but…"

Oliver nudged her leg with his. "But?"

Her tired, tear filled eyes met his. "What if she isn't okay?"

"She will be. She has no choice." He replied, though Chloe could swear she heard his voice crack a little.

"Clark wants to take her to the hospital."

Oliver nodded, looking at Lois thoughtfully. "I actually have a better idea. I have a friend who's a doctor, I can go give him a call. Get him to come and take a look, and he won't ask too many questions."

"That would be great, thank you."

Oliver tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You don't have to thank me for taking care of my family."

As he left to go upstairs, Chloe put her head in her hands and sighed but looked up when she heard the back door open. Clark walked in, hands in pockets, a solemn look on his face. She smiled lightly and stood. "Ollie's calling a doctor. He won't ask questions."

Clark nodded but didn't say anything.

Chloe flicked a glance down to Lois and back to Clark again. "I'll go see how he's doing."

Clark knew the reason she was leaving and he was grateful for it. Taking Chloe's vacated seat on the coffee table, he leaned forward and took Lois' hand. Her other hand was still injured from the screwdriver incident, the white bandage peeking out from under the sleeve of her jacket.

As soon as his hand made contact with hers, her eyelids started fluttering and hope sprang into his chest. "Lois?"

She groaned and then her eyes slowly started to open.

"Lois." He said on a breath of relief. "How are you feeling?"

She blinked a few times, confusion marking her features, that even in distress, were still breath taking. "I'm not sure."

"We've been so worried about you…"

"What happened to me?" she asked, holding a hand to her head, and then wincing when she felt the pain in it. "And what the hell happened to my hand?"

"Whoa, whoa, just…" Clark pushed her gently back down. "Slow down."

Hastily, Lois unwrapped her hand and gagged when she saw the blood. "How did this happen?"

"You don't remember?" Clark asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach at war with the knowledge that this was for the best.

She shook her head and looked at him. "No, I don't. Clark…what's going on?"

How much should he tell her? Should he lie? He cleared his throat and moved to sit next to her on the sofa. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I don't know…it's all kinda…fuzzy."

"It's okay Lois, just relax…don't force it."

She scoffed. "Relax? How am I supposed to relax when I wake up on your couch with a hole in my hand, a very painful _open_ hole I might add, and I don't remember getting there!"

"If you calm down I'll explain…"

"I can't calm down Clark, this really hurts!" She shot up off the sofa and stormed to the door.

Clark caught her before she reached it. "Where are you going?"

"To the hospital. You know, to take care of this," she held up her hand. "Which I would've expected my friends to do while I was unconscious!"

"Lois it's not like that. We called a doctor, he's on his way."

That seemed to deflate some of her anger, but Clark could see she was still confused.  
"Just come and sit down, wait for the doctor and we'll talk." He waited, eyebrows raised until eventually she nodded and went to sit back down.

"So come on Smallville….spill."

"Oh my God, you're awake!" Chloe yelled as she ran into the living room, Oliver following closely behind. Lois barely managed to get a word out before she was almost crushed in a giant hug.

"Uh Chlo? I kinda need oxygen you know."

"Oh..sorry. I'm just so happy to see you awake. How are you feeling?" She leaned back to get a good look at her cousin's face and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Irritated to be honest."

Chloe glanced at Clark. Yep, Lois was definitely back to normal.

"So can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"You don't remember?" Oliver asked.

Lois groaned. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? Remember what?"

Chloe stroked her shoulder and looked at Clark, who was feeling pretty helpless right now. Part of him wanted to tell her everything, to have her remember exactly what went on between them. But the reasonable side of him wanted her to forget.

Lois sighed and pressed her knuckles to her temple. "My head is pounding, did I go drinking last night?"

"Uh, no you didn't…" Chloe replied.

"Then when is that doctor getting here?"

"He's on his way from Metropolis, he's flying in by helicopter so I'm going to go and pick him up. Chloe…"

"Huh?"

Oliver smiled. "You want to come with me? Keep me company?"

_Subtle Oliver, real subtle, _Clark thought to himself.

"Oh sure. We'll be back soon Lois, just stay here…please."

Lois nodded but didn't reply and it was only after Chloe and Oliver had left that she turned to Clark.

"You're quiet. What's wrong?"

Faking a smile he shrugged. "Nothing."

"Don't give me that, I have eyes in my head and even I can see the wrinkles forming. What is it?"

Clark couldn't explain what he felt in that moment, but with her looking at him with those big, hazel eyes, concern warring with annoyance, he just wanted to lean forward and take her mouth with his. But he stopped himself. He couldn't do that…not anymore. So instead he stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"Is this about what happened to me?" Lois asked, making herself comfortable.

"Sort of. It's not easy to explain Lois."

"Please, just tell me something. You're really starting to freak me out here."

"Like I said, a lot happened and I don't really know where to start."

He could feel her eyes boring holes into his head, but he couldn't look at her at that moment. He needed to figure out exactly how much to tell her. It wasn't fair to keep it from her but he didn't want her to remember everything. Aside from other things, she had gotten pretty vicious against herself and how could he possibly explain that?

"This is really bugging you isn't it?" she asked after a few silent minutes had passed. She leaned over and touched his hand. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I want to Lois, but I just don't know how to even start to explain something like this. And I don't want to put any more stress on you. You've been through a lot." He squeezed her hand as she slipped it inside his.

"It's okay Clark." Then she took a deep breath, as if preparing herself for something. "I know." The last two words were spoken in such a quiet voice that Clark wasn't even sure he'd heard them right.

"What?"

She tilted her head and gave him a small smile. "I remember."

Clark's eyes narrowed almost immediately and his whole body froze. "Remember what exactly?"

"Well…" she held up her injured hand. "This I don't remember, which is probably a good thing since it hurts like a son of a…"

"Lois!"

She winced at the urgent tone in his voice. "Sorry. Uh well, I kinda remember most of what happened."

"And by 'most' you mean…?"

Lois sighed and stood up, walking slowly over to the window. Somehow it was easier to face this when she wasn't facing him. "I remember hitting my head. Waking up and seeing you walking away with a woman who looked an awful lot like me. That was trippy I can tell you. I remember wondering if the lake had been poisoned with some sort of hallucinogen…" she chuckled, but stopped when she saw the serious expression on his face. She cleared her throat and turned back to the window. "Anyway, I remember that. Then it all goes a little fuzzy for a while and then I was at a club and you were there and…we kissed."

"About that Lois…I…"

"Did that actually happen?" she asked, cutting him off.

"Well, yeah. I didn't plan it I swear. It just kind of…happened."

Lois kept her smile to herself because she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable but honestly, did the man not have a clue of how cute he sounded right now?

"Do you remember how we kissed? Or why?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, that's the part that I don't actually remember, I just remember you kissing me, at a club, then here and…it's all hazy."

Lois didn't need to turn around to know that he'd walked over to stand behind her. She could feel his warmth on her back, his breath on her neck, making her shiver. He was so close.

"Why did you kiss me?" she whispered.

"A lot happened Lois, a lot that I didn't plan for. I didn't want to take advantage of you but…sometimes it was…like the most natural thing in the world for me to do."

She turned around and for a split second, lost the ability to speak. His eyes were penetrating, staring deep into her soul, making her feel exposed. And yet, she wasn't afraid. She didn't shy away like she normally would. Why was that?

"You uh…you wanted to kiss me?"

He licked his lower lip, an action that caused her to groan inwardly. He had no idea how sexy that was. "Yes, I did."

"Do you uh…want to uh…kiss me now?" _What the hell are you doing Lois? This is Clark, he'll run a mile if you force this. _

But strangely, Clark stood his ground. Surprisingly, he smiled and moved a tiny bit closer. "Do you want me to kiss you now?"

_He did not just say that! Seriously? Her shy retiring farm boy_? "I uh…"

Thankfully Clark could see that she was struggling, so he moved closer and tilted her head up towards him. Looking into her eyes, he seemed to be searching for something. Then, as if he'd gotten an answer, he brought his mouth down, covering her lips with his.

His kiss was light at first, tentative, making her feel a little light headed. She grasped his shoulders as he deepened it, his teeth nibbling her lower lip, making her tremble inside. "I was really worried about you, you know?" he whispered against her mouth. "I'm so sorry…"

"Clark…don't ruin the moment."

"You do realise that there was two of you right?" he just wanted to clarify that.

"Yes, I seem to recall the not so nice side of me. Boy that must've been fun for you. And the other side…well…" But instead of elaborating, she pulled his head back down to hers, kissing him hard.

Clark couldn't quite believe that he was doing this. Of all the stupid things…She had just woken up from quite an ordeal and he was already kissing her. But he shouldn't have been surprised, things with Lois never did run smoothly or according to plan. Not that he'd planned this but…he'd had hopes.

As he tilted his head, he felt her fingers dig into his shoulders, and in response, he wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her against him. Her body felt nice against his, like it had been made specifically for this purpose. Whoa, he was getting carried away with himself, he needed to stop this. Except…he didn't want to.

"Clark…I need to tell you something." Lois said, breaking the kiss. She stayed where she was, but moved her head back to look at him.

"What is it?" Clark took a couple of deep breaths, trying to get his racing heart back under control. How could one kiss affect him so badly?

"I remember something else. And I don't know if it's my mind playing tricks on me or not…so I need an honest answer from you."

He knew where this was going so he carefully pulled back, made sure she was steady enough on her feet before moving away to go and sit down again.

She joined him a minute later looking nervous. "Clark…are you the Blur?"

Should he deny it? Pretend that it was her imagination? But really what good would that do? She already knew, she just needed confirmation from him. And truthfully, he was still confused by her reactions when he'd told her the first time. Twice.

One side of her had laughed it off, then accepted it. The other had been so understanding and actually felt moved to tears that he'd suffered through so much. But ultimately, he realised, both sides had accepted him for who he was and not once had her opinion of him changed.

He sat sideways on the sofa and took her hand in his. "Yes Lois. It's me."

"I knew it. I remember you telling me." She was practically beaming. "Thank you…"

"For what?"

"For not lying and making out it was all in my head."

"I wouldn't have done that Lois. I guess deep down, I wanted you to know. I told you twice, so I think I really must've wanted you to know." He chuckled.

Her eyes closed for a second, and then her smile faded, and she moved her hand away from his. He could feel the distance growing already, she was closing off to him and he didn't know why or how to stop it. "Lois, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Then why did the temperature in here drop like ten degrees just now? Come on, you can tell me."

"Leave it alone Clark."

He frowned as she stood and walked over to the stairs in the kitchen. Then deciding that leaving it alone was not an option, he followed after her. "Lois, talk to me. Is this because I said I told you twice?" That was the last thing he remembered saying to her, so if it wasn't that he had no clue.

She turned to face him and her expression was one of anger, but it didn't appear to be directed towards him. "Which Lois did you prefer Clark?"

"What?" It took a moment for her question to sink in. "Lois, what are you…?"

"Which one? I know you like…softer women, so which one did you prefer?"

"This is crazy, I never preferred one over the other. Both of you were the same person, just two halves of a whole."

"Oh don't give me that crap!" she spat. "You kissed both of us. You had to have had a preference."

"I didn't." he said a little more sternly, taking a step towards her. "What's really going on here Lois?"

"Clark...don't!"

"Wait a second, why did you tell me you didn't remember anything when you woke up? Why lie about that? What is going on with you?" he asked, struggling to understand.

"Just…leave me alone Clark. I need some time to think about all this."

He nodded and let her walk up the stairs, it was probably best that she took some time to get her head around what had happened. Sort out what she did actually remember. But her reaction had him concerned.

Why would she think he preferred one side of her over the other? He watched as she disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs.

He didn't know, but it appeared he would have to wait to find out.

**_To Be Continued..._**


	20. Chapter 19

**_Chapter Nineteen_**

Over the course of the evening, Clark had answered three calls for help and in between each one he'd gone home only to find Lois still locked away in his bedroom and refusing to even answer him, let alone come out.

The doctor that Oliver had called had been and gone. Emil Hamilton had run a bunch of tests, stitched up her hand and true to Oliver's word, he hadn't asked a lot of questions.  
But Clark could see that he was more than intrigued by what had happened.

But at least Clark could now relax knowing that she was okay and healthy. Now he just had to get her to talk to him. _Good luck on that one_, he thought. Though he still wasn't exactly sure what he'd done wrong.

Instead of dwelling on it, he decided to go and take care of the last of the chores around the farm before calling it a night. He had a feeling Lois was going to stay in his room tonight, which meant he was once again relegated to the sofa. He didn't mind, truthfully he was glad she was there. He felt better knowing that at least she was under the same roof as he was. He had no idea if the kryptonite would have any lasting side effects and until he was sure, he wanted her as close as possible.

His mind had gone over her reaction and overreaction a hundred times and he still wasn't any closer to figuring out what had caused it. Why had she asked him which one he'd preferred? It didn't make any sense. Lois was not a needy person, she didn't need constant reassurance that she was a good person. So what was it?

His cell phone vibrating in his pocket brought him out of his thoughts, which was probably a good thing. Going over it wouldn't do him any good.

"Hello?"

"Hey Clark, just checking in…" It was Chloe…again.

"Chloe," he chuckled. "This is like…the sixth time you've called in two hours. Yes she's still in my room and no she won't come out."

He heard her sigh and thought she sounded tired. They all were, even him and that wasn't an easy task.

"Okay. How are you doing?"

"Me? I'm good, just finishing up some last minute chores." He stood and waited for her to reply, but she just sighed again. "Chloe, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm just…I just want her to tell us what's wrong. Hiding in your room isn't going to do her any good and it's frustrating. She needs to deal with this!"

"She will, eventually. She's been through a lot Chloe, we need to understand that."

"I do but I hate the thought of her sitting up there alone."

"Me too but what do you want me to do, break the door down and barge in?"

There was a pause. "Could you?"

Part of him knew she was joking but there was no way he would invade Lois' privacy like that. Not unless she was in danger. "No! Look she'll come down when she's ready. You know what she's like, she just needs time. I can't imagine what she went through, what she's going through now. Her head must be all over the place. But I'm looking after her Chloe, don't worry."

"I know you are. I never worry when it comes to you Clark. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay, just get some rest. I'll talk to her tomorrow."

He hung up and looked back towards the house. The lights were on in his room, but he saw no movement. Resisting the urge to take a peek with his x-ray vision, he shook his head and continued on with his work.

It was late by the time he got in and the only noises he could hear were the ones of the TV, which for some reason was still on, and Shelby sitting at the foot of the stairs in the kitchen. He was staring upwards and whining so Clark knelt down next to him and petted his head. "What's the matter boy? Huh?"

Shelby's answer was another whine, drawing Clark's gaze upwards. "You miss her huh? Yeah, me too. I wish she would just come out and talk to me."

He stood up and walked over to turn the TV off. In the silence, he glanced around the dark farmhouse, feeling a strange sense of apprehension. What was he going to do? What if Lois never spoke to him again? What if she decided that all this had been a little too weird for her and wanted out?

He couldn't think about that because that thought left him feeling on edge. Lois had always been there, he hadn't realised until now how much he had taken that for granted. Even with her going off to college and Metropolis, she always came back. And he needed to know that she was going to come back from this too. Because the thought of being without her was just a little too scary for his liking.

He looked down at Shelby, who was still sitting at the bottom of the stairs whining. Something was bugging him.

"What is it Shelby?" he asked, an unsettling feeling in his gut. Before he could say anything else, Shelby ran up the stairs, and settled at the door to his bedroom. Clark frowned as he followed him up. He should check on her, but what if she wasn't asleep? He knew she wouldn't take too kindly to him barging in.

But Shelby's actions were concerning him. Even if Lois wouldn't admit to loving the golden haired pooch, Clark knew that he adored her. His hand closed around the handle and Shelby lunged forward a little, ready and waiting. As he cracked the door open, just a little, the dog barged in, ran past him and immediately jumped up onto his bed, settling himself alongside the woman lying in it.

Clark stood in the doorway for a moment, just watching. She looked peaceful enough but he could see the faint streaks on her cheeks, indicating that she'd been crying. She'd been up here alone, upset, and that thought did not sit well with him at all. Shelby gave a tiny little moan, glanced once at Clark, then settled his head down next to Lois. Apparently this was where he intended to spend the night.

Clark sighed and, taking one more lingering glance at Lois, closed the door and walked back down to the living room. Sitting on the sofa, he put his face in his hands. There really wasn't anything he could do until morning though, so he kicked off his shoes and socks and laid down. But sleep, it appeared, did not want to come.

Lois flipped over onto her back one last time and growled. Glancing at the glowing green light of the clock next to her only increased her annoyance. Three o'clock in the morning and sleep was never further away.

After waking up for the fourth time, she gave up. Why was she surprised though? With all the thoughts tumbling around in her head, it was amazing she could even blink let alone think enough to try and get some rest.

She felt something warm and wet swipe against her cheek and shrieked as she shot up.

"Shelby! You scared the crap out of me, boy!" Stroking his head, Lois allowed herself a moment of weakness. "How did you get up here, huh?"

Ignoring her allergy, she snuggled her head close to his, feeling a strange kind of warmth from his presence. It was strange but as he looked at her with those huge brown eyes, she almost felt that he knew what she was thinking. Which was a sure sign she was starting to go crazy, if she hadn't already.

She chuckled and moved away, stifling a sneeze. "I love you Shel but really…you smell like a dog."

Shelby just tilted his head at her, again making her laugh. "Sorry bud but it's true. If you're gonna go chasing cows or whatever it is that you do all day around here, then you have to deal with the consequences."

His reply was to just lie back down next to her. She rubbed his ear as her mind drifted off. Since she wasn't about to fall asleep any time soon, and she was starting to get really thirsty, she knew a trip down to the kitchen was unavoidable.

With a deep sigh, she stood, threw on her robe and headed towards the door. Shelby raised his head but then decided it was too much effort and dropped it again. Shaking her head, she opened the door and headed quietly down the stairs. It was the early hours of the morning so at least Clark would already be asleep, and since she was in his bed, he would most likely have taken his mom's room.

She was sorely mistaken however, when she turned on the light in the kitchen and glanced into the living room. His large form was squeezed onto the sofa, looking uncomfortable as his feet hung off the edge. Why was he down here? She wasn't ready to face him yet.

Trying to get rid of the image of how cute he looked whilst sleeping, Lois shook her head and moved over to the refrigerator. Moving as quietly as humanly possible, she quickly poured herself a glass of orange juice. She closed her eyes as she sipped, allowing the cold from the fridge to soothe her overly warm skin.

"Lois?" Clark's very quiet but all too conscious voice broke the silence.

Lois yelped and spat her orange juice out, coating the fridge door and herself. She turned around fixing to give him a glare but froze as she took in the sight of the tousled bed hair, the sleepy look in his eyes, and the concerned expression on his face.

"Great, thanks Clark." She mumbled as she wiped her top down just so she would have something to do to help her tear her eyes away from him. She felt rather than saw him step closer and her initial instinct was to run.

His voice so quiet, he replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

She glanced up at him and for a split second she saw where his eyes were and quickly stopped trying to rub the orange juice out of her top. "It's fine."

She grabbed a cloth to wipe the fridge with and turned her back to him. "Did I wake you?"

"No, not really. I wasn't sleeping well."

"Well what did you expect? You can't possibly be comfortable on that sofa, why didn't you go upstairs?"

She finished cleaning up and started to turn around expecting to see him still standing there but he had, in fact, moved closer. A lot closer, because as she turned, she found herself colliding with a very broad and very muscular chest.

"What do you want Clark?" she demanded abruptly, but then immediately felt guilty after seeing his face drop. "Sorry."

She moved away and sat down, cradling her glass of orange juice between her hands.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Lois." His tone held a hint of warning, as well as his expression. He was done taking no for an answer, she could see that she was going to have to explain her actions. But she wasn't ready for that.

She sighed. "Look Clark, I know that things are messy right now, and I'm sorry but I just don't know what you want from me."

"Who said I wanted anything? I just want you to talk to me." He replied, taking a seat across the centre island in the kitchen.

"About what?"

His incredulous look made her regret that question. "I mean, what do you want to know? Because I think we did a lot of talking this afternoon."

"Lois, I understand that what you're going through is tough, and I know how hard it must be to try and make sense of it all. But I need to know something."

"Oh?"

Clark frowned. "What did you mean when you asked which one I preferred? Why would you ask me that?"

She gave a dry attempt at a chuckle and switched her gaze back to her glass. "Well you have to admit that my wilder side was a lot more fun."

Clark's gaze narrowed, he hated hearing her talk like this. But how could he get through to her enough so that she would believe him?

"You kissed me." She blurted out. Clark blinked, but then nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He released a slow breath and placed his palms on the table. "I don't know Lois." _Confession time Clark. She needs to hear this. _"I didn't plan it I swear."

"Here's what I don't understand though," she said, cutting across him. "If there were two of me, and you thought I might be an imposter, why did you kiss both of us?"

"Because…okay listen, it wasn't what you're thinking. When I was with you, your softer side," When her eyes widened, he tried to take it back. "No, I uh…I don't even know how to explain it…" he shook his head, irritated at his lack of words.

"Well how did you guys tell the difference anyway? Like, what did you do?"

"At first I really thought you might not be Lois. So _your_ idea was to call you Joanne and the other we called Lois obviously. But there was something…familiar about Joanne. I could see the vulnerable look in her eyes and…"

Lois scoffed. "When have I ever been that vulnerable Clark? Come on, this is me we're talking about."

"The thing is Lois, you were and I wanted to help you even knowing that you weren't…you. But when I sat with you, I…felt something. Like I could sense something and I honestly don't know why I kissed you, but I knew that it was what I wanted. It just felt so right. When I left and saw you at the club later that night…"

"You kissed me again."

"Hey, if I recall that one was all you."

Stunned silence filled the kitchen with Clark already regretting his choice of words. "But uh, anyway I was trying to figure out what was going on at that point. And then things happened and we kissed again and I knew. I knew then that you were the same person."

"From a kiss?" Her tone was sceptical but her eyes were…hopeful?

"Yeah. It was like something clicked and I just knew it was you." His hand moved a little then, like he was attempting to reach hers but he changed his mind and drew it back.

Lois groaned and put her head in her hands. Then winced. "At least I remember how I got this."

"You do?"

"Yep. I wonder if this is classed as self-harm?" she mused.

"Lois, don't talk like that. You weren't yourself and you thought Joanne was trying to take over your life." Clark's tone was strong, forceful even. He didn't approve of her describing herself that way.

"Like that's an excuse to do this to someone else?" she asked, her voice rising a little.

Clark shook his head. "The meteor rock can have strange effects on people but also on their moods too."

"Oh great so you're saying I had a mondo dose of PMS too? Wonderful."

"No!" Clark paused and shook his head, expelling a breath. "Look, all I'm saying is that the Kryptonite caused certain…behavioural changes. It happens."

"Okay, so what else did I do? I'm sure there's some things that I can't remember."

She stood up to put her now empty glass in the sink, and stayed there to look out of the window. Though she didn't know why because it was pitch dark outside, she couldn't really see anything. But keeping her back to Clark meant that she didn't have to face him.

"Does it matter?"

She shrugged. "I guess not."

In the reflection of the window, she saw him turn around to face her. When he stood up, she stayed still and then closed her eyes when she felt his hands on her shoulders, slowly turning her around.

"I need to know Lois."

"What?" she whispered, keeping her gaze aimed at his chest.

"Why did you ask me who I preferred?"

She bit her bottom lip, felt tears stinging her eyes. _Stop it Lois! You're stronger than this!_

Then Clark shocked her by rubbing his thumb over her lip, stopping her from chewing on it. He smoothed away the sting after she'd bitten down hard and then moved his hand back to her shoulder. "Please tell me."

She swallowed hard, wanting so badly to just tell him, but feeling that once she did, his perception of her would change. But the way he pleaded for her to tell him, and the look in his eyes, broke her resolve. "Clark, it's okay."

"What is?"

"That you kissed Joanne. I can understand it. She was vulnerable, the softer side of me. And you like that and…"

"Wait a second, you think that's why I was attracted to her…uh…you?"

"Isn't it?"

"No! Lois, I like _you_. All of you! I thought you understood at least that much by now."

His hands dropped to his sides and for a brief moment she felt the loss of contact. "Lois was…not something I am proud of, I mean what I did. But _she_ was who I was raised to be. Strong, independent, able to withstand anything life could throw at me."

Understanding dawned in Clark's eyes, making Lois want to shrink away and hide somewhere. "I think I get it."

"You do?"

"When I told you that I had a way of getting to two of you back together, you ran away remember? You said something about not wanting a simpering idiot to be a part of you."

"Well…" Lois shrugged, unable to say anything to that.

"Oh Lois, don't you understand? Joanne _is_ as much a part of you as Lois. There's nothing wrong with being a little vulnerable sometimes or needing people."

"I know that! But that's not me. I'm harsh, I say all the wrong things at all the wrong times and I screw up more than anyone else I know."

Clark frowned, getting frustrated at Lois' opinion of herself. "And yet, you're also incredibly kind. You feel pain when others do, you _feel_ Lois. And that, is only _part_ of why I love you!"

Lois felt her eyes go as wide as saucers. "You…you what?"

For a second, Clark looked like he'd just seen something that can never be unseen, his face was frozen as he looked down at her. _Did I really just say that?_ Looking at the confusion and shock on Lois' face, it would appear that he had.

"I uh…um…" _Oh dear._

**_To Be Continued..._**


	21. Chapter 20

Wow, thanks sooooo much you guys. And as promised, here it is. The FINAL Chapter of Double Trouble. Thank you so much for sticking with me on this story, I didn't plan for it to go on as long as it has but I have finally reached the end. I hope you all enjoy this chapter **_Chapter Twenty_**

"Clark, what the hell are you talking about?" she asked in a hushed voice.

Clark blinked, as if coming back to awareness and looked at her. "I'm sorry Lois, I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

She frowned then looked down at the ground. "You can't…"

"You know what? Actually I did. I don't want to deny it longer Lois, I'm in love with you."

He heard her sharp intake of breath and felt her fingers dig into his arms. "You…nah, you're messing with me."

"Am I? Would I really do that right now?"

Lois reared away from him, leaning against the kitchen counter, narrowing her eyes at him. "You…_think_ you're in love with me?"

As he stood there, watching her grow more and more uncertain, he knew that what he'd blurted out was the truth. Okay sure he hadn't meant to just say it like that, it probably could've been delivered a little more delicately but this wasn't the time for delicacy. She needed to hear the truth and he just…he didn't want to pretend it wasn't happening anymore.

He was tired of feeling like something was different whenever she was around him, and not knowing what it was. Now that he knew, he felt…happy, released almost. Like he could finally admit it and not feel worried that it wouldn't be returned. Because something told him that it would be.

She fell silent and then out of nowhere, her face changed and she lunged forward and smacked him in the shoulder. "Clark!"

Confusion quickly took over the elation he was feeling. "What was that for?" Out of habit, he rubbed his shoulder, acting like it hurt.

She rolled her eyes as she folded her arms. "Oh please, like that hurt!"

He looked at his hand and, realising what he was doing, he gave a sheepish smile and dropped it to his side again. "Lois, what's…?"

"You can't just blurt something like that out! All we did was kiss."

"That may be so but Lois, you kissed me first. Don't tell me that didn't mean anything."

Her mouth opened and closed, kind of like a goldfish and Clark had to fight the urge to laugh. It would certainly not help at this point. "I wasn't myself Clark, even you said that."

"Okay fair enough, but you said some things to me when you thought Joanne was trying to take over your life."

Fear entered her eyes and he wondered if she knew or remembered what he was talking about. "What things?"

"You don't remember?"

"If I did would I be asking?" she snapped.

Clark pursed his lips, taking in a deep breath before sitting down again. Lois continued to stand in front of him, glaring down at him. "You told me that she couldn't have me. You wouldn't allow her to _have_ me."

She took a moment to think about that, and then he saw a faint red blush creep her neck and into her cheeks. She remembered that at least. "That…" she cleared her throat. "That doesn't mean anything Clark. I didn't want her to hurt you, that was all."

"But I can take care of myself Lois, you know that. So it led me to believe that maybe your feelings for me run a little deeper than just friendship."

"It was just a kiss." she whispered, as if it was her last line of defence and she was clinging to it.

"So? If you can stand here, look me in the eye and tell me that you don't have feelings for me too, then I'll leave it alone and I will never mention it again."

"Well I…I don't…" she grunted as she realised that she couldn't actually say the words. Like literally couldn't say them, it was like her mouth refused to even think of saying them. "Fine! I have feelings for you, but what does it change?"

"It changes everything Lois, because now I can do this…" he leaned forward and captured her mouth, and this time his kiss was different. It was more confident, he was surer than before. And Lois liked it. She wrapped an arm around his neck but before she could really return his kiss, he stopped and pulled back. Confused, she frowned at him.

"Lois…" he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. "There is _nothing_ about you that I don't like. I wish you could see what I see when I look at you."

Swallowing back the tears, Lois looked into his eyes. "What's that?"

"Someone who is passionate about life, her friends, family, her career. You're…you're _Lois_! When the rock split you into two people, it split your personality but you were _both_ Lois Lane. The strong side of you, the one you consider harsh? She's the glue that holds everything in place. The one who kicks my butt every time I need it. The one who was raised to believe that being soft is a sign of weakness but that couldn't be more wrong."

He paused for a moment then carried on. "Then there's the softer side, the one you think is too vulnerable or soppy? She is the one who feels everything you _need_ to feel. But together as one, you're human. You're perfect, just the way you are."

"Nobody's perfect Clark." She scoffed, but her voice felt thick and sounded strange even to her own ears.

"No, they're not but you're pretty close. And those faults that you hate yourself for? They're the things I love you for. You're everything a person should be, faults and all."

"I don't hate myself Clark."

"That's good."

"I just…I remember feeling that Joanne was so soppy and mopey and…I don't know, it just irritated me I guess."

Clark pulled her closer so that she was standing between his legs as he sat on the stool, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist, effectively trapping her. "Well when I said that the meteor rock caused behavioural changes, I didn't mean just for one of you. Joanne was highly sensitive but that didn't mean that it's how she…_you_ normally are. Both of you apart were much more heightened versions of when you're joined. Does that make sense?"

"I think so." She sighed and finally allowed her own arms to close around his shoulders. Breathing in his scent, she closed her eyes. "So my sensitive side was just amped?"

"Exactly. Both sides were. And that's why this happened." He said, gently lifting her injured hand.

"I'm sorry I asked you which one you preferred Clark."

"It's okay. I couldn't have given you an answer anyway, I love all of you Lois. And besides," he winked at her. "I kinda liked them both."

"Oh really?" she asked, raising her head to look at him. He was smiling wickedly, something she was really not used to seeing.

"Well, you were pretty hot at that club. All I could think about was getting you out of there."

When her mouth dropped open in shock, he realised how that had sounded and hastened to add. "You know because the guys were all over you."

"Ah…" Slowly she grinned. "You were jealous."

He shifted in his seat a little. "No I…well I didn't like it."

Lois actually laughed, and the sound was different than Clark remembered. It was amazing to hear her laugh again after all this.

"It's okay Smallville, I guess I got a little jealous too."

"You did?" he asked, confused for a second.

"Well when I saw you with Joanne I was…angry. I thought you chose her over me."

Clark just shook his head, still finding it a little hard to take all this in completely. He didn't think he would ever truly understand it.

"But I think I get it now. I know why you felt you had to protect her more than me. Lois was the stronger side, I could take care of myself, and clearly…" she raised her bandaged hand. "You were right to do so."

His face turned serious as he stared into her eyes. "It wasn't your fault Lois, you know that right?" he asked, cupping her cheek tenderly.

"I'm starting to." She smiled.

"Good."

"Most people would've ended up in therapy." She chuckled.

He shook his head firmly. "Not you. You're stronger than you think Lois."

She drew in a deep breath, and released it slowly. "Clark…I…"

"What is it?" he asked softly when she hesitated.

She swallowed and looked deep into his eyes. "I don't really know how to say this."

"So just say it, it's never been a problem for you before." He chuckled.

"This is different." Raising a hand to touch his face, she placed a tender kiss on his lips, the merest of brushes but one that ignited a fire so intense he had to take a deep breath.

"Clark…I love you too." She whispered.

"Really?" His eyes widened slightly as she chuckled. He hadn't expected her to say it back so soon. He thought he'd have to give her time to get used to the fact that he'd said it first.

"What, you don't believe me?"

He shook his head as a slow grin appeared. "No it's just…hearing it…it's," he took her good hand and placed it against his heart. "It's perfect."

Unable to stop himself, Clark leaned forward slightly and cupped her face in his hands. The glint in his eyes both captivated and made Lois nervous. She scoffed inwardly, her, nervous? Unlikely. And yet here she was, shaking.

"What are you doing?" she asked, trying desperately to sound in control. In reality her heart was thudding fast and heavy, and she had rarely felt _less_ in control in her life.

The question was echoed in Clark's head, but he ignored it. Her skin was so soft. Fascination gleamed in his dark eyes as his thumb explored the smooth contours of her flushed cheek.

"I should…probably go." She whispered.

"It's four in the morning Lois, where would you go?" he replied, letting her step back. He didn't want to push her too soon.

Lois stood nailed to the spot by a forceful longing as she took in the details of his lean, streamlined body as he stood. He was quite, unbelievably gorgeous, she decided, as her eyes greedily explored him. Though she wouldn't admit that to him, not yet anyway.

The simmering silence stretched and stretched. "I should just go back to bed…"

"No."

A muscle clenched in his jaw. "Don't go Lois. Stay with me."

Before the throaty plea had left his lips, a needy moan had left her own and before she knew what had happened, she was walking back towards him. She felt relief as his strong arms closed around her, holding her so tight she couldn't breathe. He kissed her again and again, with a driving need.

Lois didn't care about breathing; she just wanted this not to stop any time soon. But was it too soon for them? She didn't care, he loved her and she loved him, which was all that mattered. She wanted to carry on feeling like this forever. It was insane, but she loved it.

Then she stopped thinking because she was too busy feeling.

Giving her a little more encouragement, Clark covered her mouth with his, and at the first touch, he felt a spark light his lower belly. But when she put her arms around his neck and eagerly accepted his kiss, the spark quickly turned into flames.

He wasn't exactly sure what he was doing, all he knew was that it felt so right. He loved this woman, and everything about her. And though he knew he shouldn't, he wanted to show her how much he wanted her. How much he had wanted her ever since their kiss at that club.

As he deepened the kiss, his hands found their way to the hem of her nightshirt. Sliding them underneath, he caressed her sides. Fire immediately streaked through his veins at the feel of her satiny skin beneath his palms and her eager response to his tongue teasing hers.

Without thinking, for he was now lost in the moment, he slid his hand upwards, catching her gasp with his own mouth as he accidentally brushed past her breast to smooth his hands over the bare skin of her back. But it was the feel of her warm touch when she placed her hand on his chest, doing a little exploring of her own, that caused his body to tighten almost painfully.

On a hiss he broke the kiss and stared down at her. Her eyes were glazed over and her lips were swollen from his kisses and it took all the strength he possessed not to kiss her again. Taking a few deep breaths, he willed his beating heart to slow. They had reached a line here, and once crossed, there would be no turning back. _At least not without a cold shower and a lot of suffering on my part,_ he thought grimly.

"Clark?" her voice was husky and all kinds of sexy. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing I just…"

"This is too fast isn't it?" she asked, voicing his own concern.

"Maybe."

She nodded and moved back a little, her own breathing now starting to slow a little. She pressed her fingertips to her mouth as if she could still feel his lips there.

Resisting the urge to take her mouth again, Clark studied her features. She looked exhausted, there were dark circles under her eyes and the hazel depths reflected the recent ordeal she'd been through.

"It's late, I think maybe we should go to bed." She said, echoing his thought but as his eyes flared she quickly backtracked. "I mean, _I_ should go to bed and you should…"

"I know what you meant Lois, it's okay. But you're right, it _is_ late and you need to get some rest."

She smiled teasingly. "Is that your way of telling me I look like crap?"

"No! Not at all, I think you're…" he trailed off.

"What?"

He raised his eyes to hers, amazed that he now felt so nervous when a few minutes ago, his hands had been all over her. "I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

For a moment she was silent, looking ever so slightly shocked. Then she masked it with a grin and punched him in the shoulder. "Boy are you sappy in the morning."

Chuckling she made her way to the stairs, but as she took the first step she stopped and looked back at him, all traces of laughter gone from her face. "Clark?"

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he glanced up at her. "Yeah?"

"Will you sleep with me tonight?"

His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.

"I just meant to sleep. Get your mind out of the gutter Smallville."

Feeling embarrassed, Clark cleared his throat. "Maybe it's best if I stay on the couch."

She rolled her eyes. "Clark, I'm far too tired to think of anything but sleep right now." She paused, her vulnerability showing for a split second. "I just don't want to be alone, that's all."

How could he say no to that? With a small smile, he simply nodded, turned off the lights and followed her up the stairs. About halfway up she stopped and wavered, her whole body just swaying. "Lois? You okay?"

"Yeah I just…I guess I'm just really tired. But these stairs…have they always been this long?"

Instead of answering, Clark reached out and swept her up into his arms. At first she held herself stiff, but then as she looked into his eyes, she started to relax and then as he started climbing, she nestled her head in the crook of his neck.

With gentle hands, Clark placed her on his bed and held the covers up for her to climb under. After taking off his jeans, leaving him in just his boxers and t-shirt, he crawled in the other side.

He settled down beside her and after a moment's pause, tucked her into his arms. She twisted about, trying to find just the right spot. When she scooted backwards, closer to his body, she heard his sharp intake of breath, and she froze, feeling the effect she'd apparently had on him right there against her. She started to move away but he clamped his arms around her, rendering her immobile.

"Sorry." He whispered, loosening his grip a little, but not by much. "But just…please, stay still."

Her cheeks flaming, she tried to relax. The moment he'd touched her, her fatigue had fled. Now she faced trying to sleep with him wrapped around every inch of her. His warmth bled into her, making her relax slowly against him. It was so strange, she thought that this would feel…different. But it just felt…so right. Being here with him felt right.

Clark listened to the sound of her heartbeat, slowing down as she began to relax, but she was still nowhere near falling asleep. "Lois…" he murmured.

She twisted her body around so that they were lying face to face. "Clark, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean? I thought we were going to sleep."

His clueless and almost nervous expression nearly made her laugh. She worked to keep her expression neutral as she answered. "I mean us. What are _we_ doing?"

He reached up and traced a finger down her cheek. "I know what I want Lois. The question is, do you want the same thing?"

"I…"

"I love you." He whispered. "And I want to be with you."

"Even when I'm as neurotic as I am?" she chuckled. But Clark's serious expression stopped her.

He let his fingers trail through her long hair, making the back of her scalp tingle. "Lois, I've always wanted you."

"You…you have?"

He nodded. "Yes, I just never let myself admit it."

Lois' eyes narrowed as she looked into his. She loved him. It shouldn't surprise her but now that she'd acknowledged it, she realised that she hadn't immediately recognised it until now. Shouldn't she have known on some level that she loved this man?

"Maybe we should just try dating for a while? See how that goes?" she offered.

He smiled. "If that's what you want, that's what we'll do. But Lois, nothing will change. I'm still going to love you after fifty dates, a hundred or even a thousand."

"Is being smooth one of your super powers too?"

He chuckled. "I wish. It would've saved me a whole lot of time and effort. You, Lois Lane, are a hard woman to figure out."

She smiled and snuggled down next to him, tucking her head under his chin. "Well now you have the time to find out."

Clark laughed and breathed in the scent of her hair, closing his eyes. It wasn't too long before he heard the rhythm of her heart slow and her breathing deepen, and he knew she was asleep. He shuffled a little, trying to get comfortable without moving her, and felt the last few days of strain slowly seep out of his body. This was where he wanted to be. And this was exactly where he would stay.

Warm lips kissed a line from her shoulder down her arm. Lois stirred and opened her eyes later that morning, to Clark's dark head moving sensuously down her body.

"That's a very nice way to wake up Smallville," she murmured.

His head came up and she met the blue-green of his eyes. _So clear and warm_, she thought.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She rolled onto her back and lifted her hand to thread it through his soft, wavy hair. "Much better. I finally feel like me again."

"Good." He replied, kissing her neck. She tried to stifle the yawn that was coming, but it beat her anyway.

"You're still tired." He said, frowning.

"No, no I'm just…very comfortable." She tugged his head back down to her and he leaned down and captured her mouth with his.

"Hi," he said after pulling back, smiling down at her. Their faces only millimetres apart.

"Hi." She said, a little breathlessly. How was it that he could have such a devastating effect on her with just one huskily spoken word?

But then it didn't matter because he was kissing her again, making her forget everything she'd been about to say. His tongue gently teased her lower lip, seeking access, which she then granted and he deepened the kiss.

Wrapping his arms around and under her, holding her so close that she didn't know where he ended and she began, Lois knew she was putty in his hands. And it surprised her that she was okay with that. This was the first time she'd ever surrendered control, and she actually found that she liked it. Seeing Clark this…bold, was definitely something she could get used to.

She bit her lip hard as his mouth moved lower, kissing with light feathery kisses down her neck and onto her shoulder, then up to the sensitive region just below her ear. She gasped at the assault on her senses, feeling the world tilt as he moved to the other side to do the same.

It was so easy to forget her doubts and insecurities in the shelter of his arms. There were no barriers, no stiffness and no reluctance. But she had to wonder what had changed from last night when he'd said that maybe they were moving a little fast.

"Clark…" she murmured. It seemed to bring him to his senses, like he hadn't really been in control of what he was doing and for a split second she saw the uncertainty in his eyes. But then he smiled at her and it was gone.

A moment passed between them then, like an electrical current sizzling in the air and Lois knew that this was right. She cupped his face in her hands, and then in a moment of pure clarity, she whispered. "Kiss me Clark."

With a low growl, he swooped back down and captured her lips with barely controlled restraint. His movements were impatient, as though he couldn't get enough of her. His body pressed tightly to hers, he moved them so that they were lying side by side. But Lois needed to touch him, to _feel_ him so she moved so that she was on top of him. Sitting up, she stared down and placed her palms on his chest. Then frowned.

Clark followed her gaze to his t-shirt, then grinned as she pulled him up to take it off. After throwing it onto the floor, Lois let her gaze linger for a moment, sure that she'd never seen anyone quite so beautiful before. And that was probably the wrong word to describe someone like Clark, but it was no less true.

Before she knew what was happening, she felt the buttons of her night shirt being popped open, one at a time. But his large fingers fumbled with the job and with a growl of frustration, he ripped the remaining buttons open, sending them flying into all corners of the room.

She was sure she heard some hit the window, but as he sat up and started kissing her again, she didn't care. She pulled back and took a moment to smooth her hands over his bare chest, relishing in the feel of the muscular torso. She grinned at him, and moved to kiss where her hands were, but Clark stopped her, putting his hands over hers.

"Lois…" his voice was almost her undoing. He waited until she looked up and as their eyes connected, she sucked in a sharp breath. "Are you sure?"

Swallowing hard, she pulled her hands out from under his, trailing them up his arms, over his shoulders and up to his face. Leaning in she placed the lightest of kisses on his lips. "I've never been more sure of anything else."

He closed his eyes at her answer, as if in relief, and then all of a sudden, the room flipped and she was on her back again. He stared down at her. "I love you Lois."

"I love you too Smallville."

"Chloe it's still early, I doubt Lois is even up yet." Oliver said, watching as she cut the engine and got out of the car. A woman on a mission. She stormed up to the back door and knocked. But no one answered.

"Clark? Lois?" she called, but again, no answer. She checked the door, it was locked. Which was unusual at this hour because Clark would've normally been up and about doing his chores way before now.

"Maybe we should just leave them alone." Oliver suggested, climbing the steps to the porch and then following as she went around to the front door.

"It's unlocked." She said right before walking in. Oliver just shook his head and went to follow. But Chloe came rushing back out before he could even get a foot in the doorway.

"What are you doing? I thought you were checking on Lois." He asked.

Her embarrassed smile met his. "I think Lois is okay. We should go."

"Oh?" Then Chloe glared at him and tilted her head. "Ohhhhh."

They made their way back to the car and before starting the engine, Chloe started to laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I just can't believe I've been so worried that things would be hard for Lois. That she'd be needing a shoulder to cry on today."

"What makes you think she doesn't?" Oliver frowned but couldn't help smiling at her obvious humour of the situation.

"Something tells me that Lois and Clark, are going to be just fine without our help."

And without another word, she started the engine and reversed out of the farm's driveway.

**_THE END_**


End file.
